Pollen Feeders
66 species with this diet
American Xyelid Sawfly
Xyela bakeri
A minute primitive sawfly native to western North America with the family's characteristic elongated third antennal segm...
Annulated Longhorn
Chloridolum annulare
A slender metallic green longhorn with distinctive dark rings on the antennae, giving it its common name. Found in subtr...
Ant-like Flower Beetle
Anthicus antherinus
A tiny beetle resembling an ant, found on flowers and under debris. Has a distinctive narrowed 'neck' between head and t...
Bee Beetle
Trichius fasciatus
A fuzzy, yellow-and-black banded beetle that closely resembles a bumblebee. Adults visit flowers and feed on pollen....
Bee Chafer
Trichius rosaceus
A furry bumblebee-mimicking flower beetle with yellow and black bands. Visits roses and other garden flowers....
Black Hunter Thrips
Haplothrips leucanthemi
A tube-tailed thrips found in the flowers of daisies and other composites across Europe. Unlike many thrips, it has a tu...
Blunthorn Bee
Melitta haemorrhoidalis
A late-summer specialist bee that collects pollen almost exclusively from bellflowers. It has a distinctively short tong...
Cardo Longhorn
Agapanthia cardui
A strikingly patterned longhorn with alternating bands of grey and dark pubescence on the elytra. It specializes on this...
Clarke's Mining Bee
Andrena clarkella
An early spring bee with females covered in bright orange-red fur. It is closely associated with willow catkins for poll...
Common False Blister Beetle
Oedemera lurida
A small olive-green or brownish beetle found commonly on flowers across Europe. Unlike the related O. nobilis, both sexe...
Common Pollen Beetle
Brassicogethes aeneus
A tiny iridescent green-black beetle that congregates in yellow flowers to feed on pollen. It is a major pest of oilseed...
Cuckoo Bee
Nomada flava
A slender, wasp-like bee with yellow and black banding that lacks pollen-collecting structures. It is a brood parasite t...
Dark Soldier Beetle
Cantharis obscura
A dark-colored European soldier beetle often found on umbelliferous flowers. Its entirely dark elytra distinguish it fro...
Delta Flower Scarab
Trigonopeltastes delta
A small triangular beetle marked with a distinctive delta-shaped pattern in yellow and black. It is a common flower visi...
Denticulate Soldier Beetle
Silis percomis
A small, rarely noticed soldier beetle found in grasslands of the midwestern United States. Males have distinctive tooth...
Desert Cuckoo Bee
Nomada texana
A parasitic wasp-like bee that lays its eggs in the nests of other desert bees. Its larvae consume the host's pollen pro...
Desert Longhorn Beetle
Crossidius hirtipes
A hairy, brightly marked longhorn beetle of the American Southwest. Adults visit desert wildflowers for pollen and necta...
European Antlion
Euroleon nostras
A large neuropteran whose larvae build conical sand pits to trap ants and other small insects. Adults resemble damselfli...
European Melittid
Melitta leporina
A medium-sized oligolectic bee that specializes on legume flowers, particularly alfalfa and clovers. It nests in the gro...
Flower Chafer
Oxythyrea funesta
A small black flower beetle dotted with white spots, widespread across southern Europe and North Africa. It can be found...
Flower Rove Beetle
Eusphalerum luteum
A small, yellowish omaline rove beetle that is unusual among staphylinids for being a regular flower visitor. It feeds o...
Fringed Leafcutter Bee
Megachile fidelis
A western North American leafcutter bee recognized by the dense fringe of golden hairs on its hind legs used for pollen ...
Garden Springtail
Bourletiella hortensis
A globular springtail commonly found in gardens and agricultural fields. It has a distinctive dark body with yellow mark...
Golden-headed Micropterix
Micropterix aruncella
A tiny, metallic-headed moth that is among the most primitive living Lepidoptera. Adults have functional jaws instead of...
Gypsy Cuckoo Bumble Bee
Bombus bohemicus
A social parasite that invades colonies of other bumble bees, killing the queen and enslaving the workers. Females lack ...
Hairy-legged Mining Bee
Melitta tricincta
A rare and declining bee that is a strict specialist on red bartsia flowers. It has distinctive hairy hind legs used for...
Hawaiian Easy Yellow-faced Bee
Hylaeus facilis
An endemic Hawaiian bee found across several of the main Hawaiian islands. It is a generalist pollinator that visits a v...
Heather Mining Bee
Andrena fuscipes
A late-summer specialist bee that collects pollen almost exclusively from heather and bell heather. It nests in sandy so...
Indian Blister Beetle
Mylabris pustulata
A striking beetle with black elytra marked with bright red or orange bands and spots. It produces cantharidin, a powerfu...
Indian Rose Chafer
Oxycetonia versicolor
A compact, shiny beetle with variable coloring ranging from metallic green to dark bronze. Adults are frequently found n...
Large Scabious Mining Bee
Andrena hattorfiana
One of the largest European mining bees with a striking red abdomen loaded with pink pollen. It is a specialist of field...
Large Shaggy Bee
Panurgus banksianus
A densely hairy black bee that specializes on composite flowers, particularly hawkbits and dandelions. Males have distin...
Locust Borer
Megacyllene robiniae
A striking yellow-and-black wasp mimic that attacks black locust trees in North America. Adults appear in autumn and are...
Lythrum Bee
Melitta nigricans
A specialist bee that collects pollen from purple loosestrife along rivers and wetland margins. It is a ground-nesting s...
Micropterix Moth
Micropterix calthella
One of the most primitive moths with functional mandibles that chew pollen. Lacks the typical coiled proboscis of other ...
Monkey Beetle
Hopliini scolioides
A hairy scarab beetle that pollinates flowers in South African fynbos....
Mountain Flower Rove Beetle
Eusphalerum alpinum
A small, dark omaline rove beetle adapted to alpine environments, where it visits flowers above the treeline. It is one ...
Neon Cuckoo Bee
Thyreus nitidulus
A stunning blue-spotted cleptoparasite that lays eggs in the nests of blue-banded bees. The cuckoo larva hatches first a...
Northern Pitch Twig Moth Sawfly
Xyela alpigena
A minute sawfly that is part of the oldest surviving lineage of Hymenoptera. Adults have the distinctive elongated third...
Pantaloon Bee
Dasypoda hirtipes
A distinctive solitary bee where females have enormously long pollen-collecting hairs on their hind legs. It digs deep b...
Patterned Tumbling Flower Beetle
Mordella fasciata
A small black beetle with distinctive pale zigzag bands formed by pale pubescence on the elytra. It visits a wide range ...
Pink-Spotted Lady Beetle
Coleomegilla maculata
An oblong, pink-red ladybird with twelve black spots found across North America. It is unusual among ladybirds because i...
Rose Thrips
Thrips fuscipennis
A common European thrips found in rose flowers and other blossoms. It feeds on pollen and flower petals....
Scarlet Malachite Beetle
Malachius aeneus
A small beetle with brilliant red and metallic green coloring. Males have peculiar orange head appendages used during co...
Short-Faced Scorpionfly
Panorpodes paradoxus
An unusual scorpionfly with a shorter rostrum than typical Panorpa species, found in East Asian forests. It feeds primar...
Short-Winged False Blister Beetle
Oedemera femorata
A dark-colored oedemerid with gaping elytra that do not cover the full abdomen. Males have conspicuously thickened hind ...
Silver-Haired Tumbling Flower Beetle
Mordellistena argentata
A tiny tumbling flower beetle covered in fine silvery pubescence across Europe. Larvae develop in the stems of various h...
Small Hive Beetle
Aethina tumida
A small dark beetle native to sub-Saharan Africa that is a serious pest of honeybee colonies. It has spread to North Ame...
Snout Beetle
Rhinotia hemistictus
An elongated Australian weevil with a remarkably long snout and metallic blue-green coloring with orange spots. It is fo...
Snowy Tree Cricket
Oecanthus fultoni
A pale green, delicate tree cricket known as the 'thermometer cricket.' Its chirp rate correlates precisely with air tem...
Soldier Fly
Odontomyia tigrina
A brightly colored soldier fly with aquatic larvae that filter-feed in ponds....
Southeastern Blueberry Bee
Habropoda laboriosa
A fuzzy native bee that is the most efficient pollinator of blueberry flowers in North America. It uses buzz pollination...
Spotted Tumbling Flower Beetle
Mordellistena pumila
A tiny tumbling flower beetle found on composite flowers in summer. Larvae develop in plant stems. One of the smallest a...
Sulphur Beetle
Cteniopus sulphureus
A bright sulphur-yellow beetle that looks more like a flower beetle than a typical darkling beetle. It is common on coas...
Thalassine Green Longhorn
Chloridolum thalassinum
A beautiful sea-green longhorn beetle found in the forests of Borneo and Sumatra. Its coloration closely mimics lichen-c...
Thread-Winged Lacewing
Nemoptera sinuata
An unmistakable insect with elongated, ribbon-like hindwings that trail behind in flight. Found in dry Mediterranean hab...
Tobacco Thrips
Frankliniella fusca
A major pest of tobacco, peanut, and cotton seedlings in the southeastern United States. It transmits tomato spotted wil...
Tumbling Flower Beetle
Mordella aculeata
A small, humpbacked beetle that tumbles erratically when disturbed. Adults are commonly found on flowers where they feed...
Variegated Flower Beetle
Gnorimus variabilis
A dark brown or black beetle with variable yellow-white spots on the elytra. It is extremely rare and tied to ancient ho...
Viper's Bugloss Mining Bee
Andrena nasuta
A specialist mining bee with an elongated face adapted for feeding on tubular flowers, particularly viper's bugloss. It ...
Western Flower Thrips
Frankliniella occidentalis
One of the most economically damaging insects in horticulture. Transmits tomato spotted wilt virus. Despite being tiny, ...
Xyelid Pine Bud Sawfly
Xyela minor
A tiny sawfly with the characteristic elongated third antennal segment of its ancient family. Adults emerge in early spr...
Xyelid Sawfly
Xyela julii
A tiny, delicate sawfly with a characteristic elongated third antennal segment. It is one of the most primitive living H...
Yellow-faced Bee
Hylaeus communis
A tiny, nearly hairless black bee with distinctive yellow facial markings. It swallows pollen and carries it internally ...
Yellow-legged Mining Bee
Andrena flavipes
A widespread mining bee with distinctive yellow-orange pollen brushes on its hind legs. It produces two generations per ...
Zebra Longwing
Heliconius charithonia
A neotropical butterfly with elongated jet-black wings bearing bold pale yellow stripes. It is unusual among butterflies...