Bug FAQStrawberry blossom weevil
Anthonomus rubi · Order: Coleoptera · Family: Curculionidae
Source: Wikipedia
Adults are tiny, 2 to 4 mm long, black with fine grey hairs, while larvae are about 3 mm, white with a brown head. The weevil feeds on strawberry and raspberry buds, laying eggs inside unopened flowers; the larvae develop inside the severed buds and eat the wilting tissue.
Source: Wikipedia
How to recognize it
Adults are dull black and covered with fine grey hairs.
Source: Wikipedia
Where it lives
It feeds on Rosaceae plants, especially cultivated strawberry and raspberry. In British Columbia it also uses non-crop hosts such as salmonberry and thimbleberry.
Source: Wikipedia
What it eats
Adults eat strawberry foliage and females insert a single egg into each unopened flower bud, then cut the bud stalk; larvae feed on the wilting tissue inside the severed bud.
Source: Wikipedia
Life cycle
Adults are attracted to strawberries by plant-released chemicals. Males emit an aggregation pheromone consisting of three components that lure other weevils to traps.
Source: Wikipedia
Where it comes from
The species is native to Europe and western Asia.
Source: Wikipedia
Where it is found in the US
Recorded in 1 of 51 states and DC. Most records: Washington.
Darker = more records. Counts are museum and citizen-science records, not population size.
Source: GBIF
Status: introduced in North America; introduced in United States; introduced in Canada. Source: iNaturalist
Months it is reported in the US
Source: GBIF
Questions people ask
How does the strawberry blossom weevil damage strawberries?
Adults feed on foliage and lay eggs inside unopened buds; the larvae develop inside the severed buds and eat the wilting tissue, destroying the flower and fruit.
Source: Wikipedia
What plants are affected by this weevil?
It attacks strawberry, raspberry, and other Rosaceae plants, and in some regions also feeds on salmonberry and thimbleberry.
Source: Wikipedia
How big are strawberry blossom weevils?
Adults are 2 to 4 mm long; larvae are about 3 mm long.
Source: Wikipedia
Same family (Curculionidae)
Green Immigrant Leaf WeevilPolydrusus formosusDamages trees, gardens or crops
Black Vine WeevilOtiorhynchus sulcatusDamages trees, gardens or crops
Nettle weevilPhyllobius pomaceusDamages trees, gardens or crops
Asian Oak WeevilCyrtepistomus castaneusDamages trees, gardens or crops
Strawberry Root WeevilOtiorhynchus ovatusDamages trees, gardens or crops
Common Leaf WeevilPhyllobius pyriDamages trees, gardens or cropsSources
- Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anthonomus_rubi
Look it up elsewhere: GBIF · iNaturalist · BugGuide · Wikipedia
Text written 2026-10-23 from the sources above and checked sentence by sentence against them. Data fetched 2026-10-22.