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 favour, most predatory coccinellids include other items in their diets, including honeydew, pollen, plant sap, nectar, and various fungi. The significance of such nonprey items in their diets is still under investigation and discussion. Apart from the generalist aphid and scale predators and incidental substances of botanical origin, many Coccinellidae do favour or even specialise in certain prey types. This makes some of them particularly valuable as agents in biological control programmes. Determination of specialisation need not be a trivial matter, though; for example the larva of the Vedalia ladybird "Rodolia cardinalis" is a specialist predator on a few species