Boxelder bug nymphs galore.

My 14-year-old nephew said they were box elder bugs, but everyone said he was wrong, including me. Now I have to tell him he was right...

Can they do any harm to my raspberries?

Thanks!

Well, you all need to apologize to your nephew and tell him I said so! Those are the nymphs of what most people recognize as boxelder bugs....just a younger, not fully developed version. (Your nephew can email you all pictures of them!) ;-) He gets an A from me.

Anyway, they can do some damage in those numbers. I wouldn't use anything stronger than insecticidal soap on them....and I mean a commercial product mixed according to label directions and sprayed directly on this population of pests. At this stage, they can't fly and will be easy to control. Insecticidal soaps are safe to use on edible crops and are considered a very reasonable pesticide for an organic grower to reach for. Follow the label directions and you'll have great luck in controlling these insects before they get any bigger.

Boxelder bugs feed on a very wide variety of plants but aren't typically a big problem. It's when they decide to settle down on a prized ornamental or food plan that they gotta go.

As a rule Box Elder Bugs are pretty innocuous and seldom cause enough harm to the plants they live on to warrent any kind of control. However, since they have few predators if control is desired then Insecticidal Soap would be the least harmful, when used properly.
Your biggest problem would be in winter when these buggers seek shelter in your house. Many people spray very potent poisons in their homes to control these wee buggers which does more harm to them and their families then the Box Elder Bugs or Asian Lady Beetles would.

Here is a link that might be useful: Box Elder Bugs

i have never associated any damage from the invading orange horde ...

Japanese beetles are the threat to raspberry fruit itself ... IMHO ... but otherwise.. the plants are near bullet proof ... i really see no need for any chemical/organic intervention ... UNLESS.. it is the 8th plague of the bible type of thing ... which i doubt with the boxelder bug ...

take Jr botanist for an ice cream.. you owe him a bit more than words.. lol ...

ken