them to pierce the skin of ripening fruit and deposit their eggs beneath the surface.
Once the eggs hatch, the larvae feed inside the fruit as it continues to ripen. This is why you may not notice anything unusual when you first pick up a seemingly perfect strawberry.
🧂 Why Do They Appear During a Salt-Water Soak?
A salt-water soak can make larvae easier to detect and may encourage them to leave the fruit.
Videos showing this phenomenon have circulated widely online, but seeing larvae emerge does not mean every strawberry is infested. The presence of these pests varies considerably depending on growing conditions, region, season, and pest-management practices.
😳 Are They Dangerous?
The good news is that these larvae are generally not considered a human health hazard. Accidental consumption is not known to cause illness in healthy people.
That doesn’t make the discovery any less unpleasant, of course.
For many people,
