My raised bed is one year old and gave bumper crops of brassica in winter and tomatoes in summer. The tomatoes seemed to be done for the season so I pulled the plants out today. The first one I pulled was a San Maranzo which was very healthy and prolific at about 100 lbs of good paste maters. After pulling the plant I started to work some organic matter into the soil. To my surprise each shovel brings me 10 or more C-shaped white grubs, or something like it. They varied from 1/2' to 1 1/2" and crawl on the back. Are they grubs? Are they good guys or bad?

Also, when there are a lot of these grubs in your soil, nocturnal varmits [skunks, possums, racoons]can do a great deal of damage to new plantings, as they dig for the grubs.

Since I have made it a practice to kill all such grubs found in my soil and compost pile, haven't been bothered by the fruit beetles. IMO, Whatever benefit they may provide in the compost pile is not a trade-off to the damage done by the mature beetle.

No, not anywhere in CA.

The beetle the OP's grub will become is the green fruit beetle, sometimes called the fig beetle. It specializes in eating overripe fruits such as peaches & figs.

So, in any case, not to worry.

Jean, who previously gardened for 30-some years in LB, CA.

Two ways they damage your crops:
1)they are big and clumsy and they knock over small seedlings when they are vrooming around an inch below the soil; and
2) as already mentioned, raccoons and oppossums dig for them and uproot your seedlings. I prevent this by putting pigwire over my beds before I plant.

I like the grubs because they make compost out of grass in no time at all. And the fig beetles are beautiful. I have a collection of dead ones in a jar, next to my new muskrat skull.

Renee

All summer long the leaves on my eggplants were verey much like "lace" and I saw little bugs jumping as fast as fleas, so I thought I had Japanese beetles.

Jean, are you saying we don't have it in California?

Japanese Beetles are Popillia japonica, and they have brown backs. Fig Beetles are Cotinis mutabilis, and they are larger and have bright metallic green backs. Japanese beetles eat foliage and roses, Fig beetles eat fruit. They prefer rotting fruit.

You do not have to do anything about them, but if you have stone fruit trees, you may lose some fruit next year to them. They don't make a dent in mine.

The little bugs jumping as fast as fleas on your eggplant leaves are an entirely different creature. It could be caterpillars, earwigs, slugs, snails, or some other bug eating your eggplant leaves. I spray with BT when I see leaf damage because mostly it is caterpillars here, and BT kills them and nothing else.
Renee

We have them in San Diego although not in the usual numbers this cool summer. I have never had a problem with the adults eating anything that I'm growing. Sometimes skunks will mess up the planting beds looking for the grubs.

There are usually a lot of the grubs in my compost bins. When they mature I can hear them banging into the walls and when I open the lid they fly out in a spiral, its pretty funny to watch!