The rove beetle is another very skilled predator of pest insects. They are found all over North America. These guys are big eaters. They can eat 20 aphids or grubs in a day.
Both adults and larvae eat a wide variety of creatures including:
• In The Lawn – chinch bugs, sod webworms, grubs
• In The Yard – aphids, mites, snails, slugs and small worms
• In The Vegetable Garden - soft-bodied pest such as cabbage root maggots, onion maggots, seed corn maggots and carrot rust fly maggots
Description of Rove Beetle
Adults have long, flat bodies and short forewings. Some resemble earwigs. Most are dull brown or black and range in size from ¼ to 1 ¼ inches. Larvae look like the adults. They may overwinter as larvae, pupae, or adults, and produce several generations each year.
Finding Rove Beetles
Rove beetles can be found under organic mulch, rocks, logs, in compost piles or other decaying matter like a brush pile. Adults will curl the end of their abdomen up over their back when disturbed.