Raspberry Beetle

Small light-brown beetle; pale-brown grub with dark markings found inside ripening raspberries and other cane fruit.

Single generation per year; adults emerge in late spring to lay eggs on flowers, larvae feed as fruit ripens then drop to overwinter as pupae in soil.

Larvae feed inside developing fruit near the stalk end, causing shrivelled, maggot-infested berries that collapse when picked.

Hoe or cultivate soil beneath plants in autumn and winter to expose overwintering pupae. Remove infested fruit.

Encourage birds and ground beetles, which prey on overwintering pupae in soil.