#pollen beetle

Poppy Population by David J Dalley Via Flickr: The tiny Common Pollen Beetle (Meligethes Aeneus) going about its business at the heart of a poppy flower. From the RHS website - Pollen beetles overwinter as adults that hide away in sheltered places. They emerge in spring and can often be found in narcissus flowers at that time. The females lay eggs in the flower buds of suitable host plants, which are various wild flowers and some agricultural crops, such as oil seed rape and other brassicas grown for seed. No garden flowers or vegetables are damaged in this way. When the larvae have completed their feeding inside flower buds, they go into the soil to pupate. Adult beetles emerge in July-August and seek out flowers where they feed on pollen.