Coccinellidae prey species that various Coccinellidae may attack is much wider. A genus of small black ladybirds, "Stethorus", presents one example of predation on non-Sternorrhyncha; they specialise in mites as prey, notably "Tetranychus" spider mites. "Stethorus" species accordingly are important in certain examples of biological control. They are natural predators of a range of serious pests, such as the European corn borer, a moth that costs US agriculture industry more than $1 billion annually in crop losses and population control. Various larger species of Coccinellidae attack caterpillars and other beetle larvae. Several genera feed on various insects or their eggs; for
Coccinellidae example, "Coleomegilla" species are significant predators of the eggs and larvae of moths such as species of "Spodoptera" and the Plutellidae. Larvae and eggs of ladybirds, either their own or of other species, can also be an important cannibalistic food resource when alternative prey are scarce. As a family, the Coccinellidae used to be regarded as purely carnivorous, but they are now known to be far more omnivorous than previously thought, both as a family and in individual species; examination of gut contents of apparently specialist predators commonly yield residues of pollen and other plant materials. Besides the prey they