What are those little brown caterpillars?

Have you had a visit from these little guys?

By Hanna Ashton-Lawson

Often at this time of year, we notice that our plot has some furry little insects dropping by. While they mostly seem to feed on old leaves, I have seen them nibble a strawberry or two (as pictured above). I was curious about what they were, so I did what most of us would do - put it out to social media to find out.

A big thanks to Di Bickers from the Gardening in Australia Facebook group, who has provided us with the following information about our fuzzy friends:

They are Darkling Beetle larvae/juveniles (Family Tenebrionidae). These looks to be in Subfamily Lagriinae. An example would be the Honeybrown Beetle (Ecnolagria grandis) though can’t tell exact species without raising through to adulthood. They predominently feed on decaying organic matter and fungus but if your strawberry plant is in a moist/mulched area they will have a nibble on yummy fruit too (even though not their primary diet… location of plant in an area they live & opportunity combining to this result).

So these little helpers are working on breaking down our organics and further enriching our soil! You might just need to donate a strawberry or two to the cause.