''Astylus'' is a genus of beetles in the family

Melyridae Melyridae (common name: soft-winged flower beetles) are a family of beetles of the superfamily Cleroidea. Description Most are elongate-oval, soft-bodied beetles 10 mm long or less. Many are brightly patterned in black and brown, yellow, ...

. More than 110 species have been described in ''Astylus''. They are found in Central and South America. One species, ''

Astylus atromaculatus ''Astylus atromaculatus'' is a species of beetle in the family Melyridae. It is variously known as the spotted maize beetle, or pollen beetle. It is indigenous to Argentina and neighbouring countries, but has been accidentally imported into the ...

'', known as the spotted maize beetle, is indigenous to

Argentina Argentina, officially the Argentine Republic, is a country in the southern half of South America. It covers an area of , making it the List of South American countries by area, second-largest country in South America after Brazil, the fourt ...

and neighbouring countries, but has been accidentally imported into the warmer regions of

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the Southern Africa, southernmost country in Africa. Its Provinces of South Africa, nine provinces are bounded to the south by of coastline that stretches along the Atlantic O ...

, where it has become an invasive crop pest.Van den Berg, J., Torto, B., Pickett, J. A., Smart, L. E., Wadhams, L. J. and Woodcock, C. M. 2008. Influence of visual and olfactory cues on field trapping of the pollen beetle, ''Astylus atromaculatus'' (Col.: Melyridae). Journal of Applied Entomology 132(6): 490 – 496.

Selected species

* '' Astylus antis'' * ''

'' * '' Astylus aulicus'' * '' Astylus bonplandi'' * '' Astylus bourgeoisi'' * '' Astylus cyanerythrus'' * '' Astylus forcipatus'' * '' Astylus gayi'' * '' Astylus lebasi'' * '' Astylus octopustulatus'' * '' Astylus quadrilineatus'' * '' Astylus rubripennis'' * '' Astylus sexmaculatus'' * '' Astylus trifasciatus'' * '' Astylus variegatus'' * '' Astylus vittaticollis'' * '' Astylus vittatus''

References

Melyridae Cleroidea genera {{cleroidea-stub