Sap Beetles on Small Fruit

The pest status of the strawberry sap beetle, Stelidota geminata (Say), has been accelerated along with the change in marketing systems from grower harvesting to pick-your-own operations. Unskilled pickers leave large numbers of ripe and overripe berries in the field, which attract the beetle.

The strawberry sap beetle is small, oval, and less than 1/8 inch long. It is brown and has a slightly mottled appearance. In extremely overripe berries, another sap beetle, the picnic beetle (Glischrochilus quadrisignatus or G. fasciatus) also might be found. The picnic beetle is larger and has four orange blotches on its back.

For more information, please see this Penn State Tree Fruit Production Guide Web page.

Penn State Horticulture Department

For more information on this subject, Please visit the College of Agricultural Sciences Publications Web site.

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