[Riala]

I appear to have lots of little black bugs on  my sweetcorn cobs.

When I was taking my pics yesterday, they were on the fluffly tassles coming out the cobs... has something eaten all my cobs before I have even seen them?

[8doubles]

Sounds like pollen beetle , i get a lot on the globe artichokes but they never seem to do any real damage.

[Greengirl]

Are you sure they are beetles? Sweetcorn can sometimes get blackfly infestations.

[peterjf]

woodlice love sweetcorn tassles

[Riala]

It is not woodlice.

They are tiny teeny and black, like the ones we were swamped with that hot summer... was it 1985? Hundreds of them, tiny hard little black bugs.

If you wore a bright colour, you were covered in them!

[8doubles]

Are these the ones ?

http://www.plantpress.com/wildlife/o232-commonpollenbeetle.php

[Riala]

yes, they looked similar, if not the same... didn't really look closely, just brushed like mad to get them off, then realised that they may in fact be harmless!

[tode]

If you've got the same on light coloures flowers, theyre definitely pollen beetles. Our yellow roses were full of them last year.

[Greengirl]

It does sound like pollen beetles after all.