If you don’t have fruiting trees or shrubs in your yard, then chances are you’ll rarely encounter a fig beetle. It’s believed that fig beetles have increased along with the spread of home gardens, which offer an abundance of food for adult beetles, as well as yard compost and mulch piles that feed and shelter beetle larvae. Today, their populations extend farther up the coast of Central California and into the Central Valley. Originally, they were limited to Arizona, New Mexico, Texas, and Northern Mexico, but by the 1960s they’d increased their range and began appearing in coastal Southern California.

Where are fig beetles commonly found?įig beetles are native to the southwestern United States and Mexico. Though it’s somewhat of a shock the first time it happens, colliding with a fig beetle is no cause for alarm-they’re as gentle as can be and do not bite or attack. It’s not uncommon to see fig beetles crashing into walls, trees, and even humans when they fly! Due to the way they function, their partially open elytra makes them notoriously slow and drunk-like as they navigate the air. These sounds come from their elytra (hardened forewings, similar to those found on ladybugs), which are partially closed in flight and only barely raised during takeoff.Ĭontrary to popular belief, figeater beetles are not blind. They make bumblebee-like buzzing sounds as they fly. They always seek out overripe fruits that have split, or fruits that have already been damaged by other insects, birds, or squirrels, especially those with thin skins and extra soft flesh.įig beetles are most active in the middle of the day, and you’ll usually hear them coming (or, more like dive bombing!) before you can see them. Their mouths are actually very weak, making them ineffective at chewing on most plant materials. This is when fig beetles are most active, as they fly in low, lazy circles around the yard, searching for mates and feeding on fruits. After metamorphosis, the grubs emerge as winged adults in summer. In spring, the second larval stage begins. They are excellent decomposers that help your compost break down more quickly, and are right up there with soil fungi and bacteria as essential “recyclers” in the ecosystem.

The larvae, or “crawly backs,” look like curled up, creamy white grubs and don’t do any damage to lawns or gardens, as they solely feed on organic matter in the soil. The larvae emerge from the eggs in fall and overwinter in mulch, compost, manure, or any decaying pile of organic materials. I’ll show you how!įig beetles have one generation per year, though they can remain in the soil for up to two years. I used to battle figeater beetles in my garden every summer until I learned a few simple tricks to get rid of fig beetles organically and keep their populations in check. In fact, consider yourself lucky if fig beetles are the extent of your pest problems! Some people welcome them as harbingers of warm summer days and garden bounties to come.īut, they can actually lessen your garden bounty and be a nuisance if they’re feeding on your crop before you get around to harvesting it. Recommended reading: Get Rid of Aphids Naturally With These 9 Easy Solutions If they’re not, ahem, getting down to business, they’re firmly planted on fruit trees, sucking the juice of not only their namesake figs, but other soft-skinned, rotting fruits on your trees, vines, and shrubs.įig beetles aren’t destructive to the garden the way other pests are they won’t spread diseases, kill your trees, or attract more pests. I like to call them the “ bumbling pilots of the garden,” and every summer, those loud, buzzy, clumsy fig beetles are quite an amusing sight to see.

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