Yesterday, I stopped to pick figs from 2 trees on my way home from Austin.

When I grabbed the first fig, these huge bees (so I though) came flying out and I ran like school girl.

But, they turned out to be beetles instead.  Litterly 100's of thousands of these thing all over the figs, even the ones on the ground.

Every see anything like this?

Sorry for the poor pictures, I took them with my cell phone.

I've been finding dead beetles that look like these all over my yard the past week.  Thankfully I don't have any fig tree's with ripe figs on them at the moment.  The beetles themselves are rather pretty.  Like small jewels all iridescent and colorful.  I'm sure the first time I find them on my figs that will change my opinion of them.

I'm pretty sure they are some sort of scarab beetle.  I brought about 10 home in a mason jar for my husband to id.  He was dead set on NOT letting any of them loose in the jar.  I sat the jar in the sun, which drove the chickens crazy watching them.  After about 30 minutes and no sign of life, the chickens finally enjoyed their meals.

There was a thread about them recently. I always knew them as "Mexican fig beetles", but they also like peaches, nectarines, plums, bananas, etc.

!/4 mesh netting and the organza bags keep them out. They have been an issues in So Cal for years.

There are a nuisance but not dangerous to people. They will eat any fruit till the only thing left is the stem.

Not surprisingly, they are known as Figeater Beetles.

These 2 fig trees are in Fredericksburg, Texas which is known for the peach orchards and vineyards.  Hope they stay up there and away from my fig trees.

I know Meghan mentioned she has seen, any other Texans seen them?

How is it after all these years in figs, I have never seen or heard of them?

They are pretty and pretty creeping when they come dive bombing past your head when you are picking a fig.
They won, I gave up after 20 or so figs.

If they buzzed like a large bumblebee, it is them.  I have not seen them in Granger, yet.  Perhaps they will fight it out with the leaf-footed stink bugs until neither one is standing.

This is the thread I started a while back when a friend experienced them for the first time.  http://www.figs4funforum.websitetoolbox.com/post?id=6468097  Thankfully, I've never had them here or even seen them in person yet.  It looks like they might make pretty earrings if coated in acrylic or something, though. :)

How did I miss "Beetle On a String"?

You could arrange them out and stick them in clear epoxy and then sell them as paper weights.  it works for scorpions in Texas. 

Cathy: Thank you for posting.

Best,
Tam

Harvey - did your friend experience them again the following years?  Or where they just passing through?

Cathy, he had never seen them prior to this year.

Cathy, down south we call those June Bugs.  Some growers call them fig beetles.  They will cause your figs to sour quick when they find a crop.

They would make beautiful jewelry too and can definitely see how the fish would be attracted to them.  But they sure give you the heebee jeebees when they are swarming around a tree.  I hope they don't find my stash of trees, otherwise hope the chickens and guineas are up to the task.

I agree with Dennis, here in Alabama, we call them "June Bugs"...Every so often we will get years where they are infestations of them! One time, I had a Peach tree, loaded with Peaches and every Peach on the whole tree was just covered up with them. So that year, I did not get even one peach! squash 'em, mash 'em and then kill them!!

We have lived here in the Texas Hill Country for 13 years now and this past August was the first time that I have ever seen them.  
Fredericksburg Texas is known for the peach orchard and now the grape vineyards, I hope we don't see them every year now.

Frank - Since the year that the beetles enjoyed your peaches, have they showed up every year afterwards or not again since?

Fig beetle, June bug, Dung beetle, a rose by any other name.... Google Dung beetle.