It's definitely the bean beetle. This one above has more spots, but after seeing one spot turn to two, it might just be they get older and they get more spots. I've also gone at it with the squash bugs and they are a type of stink bug, they are armored and fairly large. I have only once seen a squash bug fly, didn't know they had wings, but I searched every squash bug, stink bug, I could find, so I am aware of the stink bug you are referring only by picture, none found in the yard yet. I didn't take a picture because I am fairly sure it's the been beetle, just don't know why they are dive bombing my tomatoes. Do they like cannas, lilies, or elephant ears? I hope not, the only bean I planted was nubbed down by a goold ole' rabbit/mole/deer/groundhog/squirrel. I have to say the rabbits are hiding better this year, unlike the groundhog and the squirrel. Well, anyways I found my culprit, it's definitely a red bean beetle, now just to find out what he's eating. I hope not my castor bean plant, isn't it poisonous to bugs too? They are only flying around the tomatoes and those flowers I mentioned above, plus the honeysuckle bush.

I googled "sap beetle". Could be correct. Although many of the pictures showed spots (some didn't), and these tiny beetles appear to be all black. Yes, many of my strawberries were damaged. I lost probably 1/2 my strawberries. Don't remember this kind of damage before, but many of the strawberries looked soft, mushy, and sort of faded, like they had been floating in a bucket of water for a couple of days. NOT gray mold. But we had torrents of rain throughout June. 3rd most rain on record in over 100 years. I'm guessing they looked like they were soaked in a bucket of water because they pretty much were. Now that I've finished picking strawberries, is there anything I can do now to diminish the bug population for next year, without poisoning next year's berries? Thanks

I found this online "But, while the adults rarely cause any problems, the young larvae will feed on the fine root hairs of your plants, causing them to lose vigor and develop yellow leaves. They can also tunnel into the base of cuttings or plant stems, which can be devastating for succulents, leeks, or onion seedlings in particular. Fungus gnats search out moist soil in which to lay their eggs. The eggs are about 1/100 inch in length and laid in clusters. Larvae are translucent gray to white worms, about 1/4 inch long, with shiny black heads. These insects can infest a crop from wet, algae-covered areas in the garden, from contaminated potting soil or by flying short distances from plant to plant." Fill a container with vinegar (red wine vinegar in my case) with a couple drops of dish soap added to break the surface tension. In a couple of hours there are around eight of them. I also ordered this on Amazon. I don´t want them all over my house when I get my meyer lemon tree inside. I hope this information helps.

"I am not sure why you are so resistant to making any changes"....I just have to laugh a bit since I heard this same thing on a totally different forum (dealing with cub cadet tractors). It got to the point where I actually left the forum. I'm not sure what you are suggesting I do? Start taking apart all my potted plants down to a depth of several inches...or even farther....and add new ground to each? As to "productive plant growth"...I guess I should have shown a picture of the entire sunroom where those begonias are in. There is enough 'productive plant growth' going on out there (should be with 20 windows on all but the north side) for me. Much more and I'll need another addition. There are plants out there still going strong that I've had since the late 70s....in the same exact type of mix that I still use. All these annuals - which prompted me to post in the first place - are going to be outside hopefully by mid-May. I WILL look very carefully at what type of soil I want to put them in come fall (although whatever is around the roots, etc., will still be there anyway since I don't bring in bare root stock...I dig out the annuals in different sized clumps to fit my pots). AND I will look more closely at what sort of potting mix I'm buying - perhaps go with a bit higher quality brand (is there such a thing?) or at least a more recognizable one. BUT (sorry) I will continue to add peat moss and vermiculite. I still think (and this has not been addressed here other than my mentioning it) that the springtail situation has come into play nor am I convinced that what I'm seeing is NOT springtails. Could easily be. I think they came with huge amounts of new ground and mulch that was added within feet of the room where all my plants are!! There is a large maple tree that we had added a bed around. To accomplish that, the entire area (on a slope) had to be regraded...taking considerable amount of soil/mulch PLUS large areas needing to be seeded with new grass so now we also had large amounts of straw that was kept constantly moist for the grass seed. Definitely the conditions were right for an invasion of anything that loved moisture and damp soil, etc. We NEVER had these springtails before this project was done, and I NEVER had any of whatever is flying around the plant room and the rest of the house. Coincidence? I doubt it. So I'm still leaning towards the possibility that the plant mix may well have nothing to do with any of this. I'm wondering if perhaps things other than springtails came along with the landscaper's soil as well? End of story. I think I'm done with this thread now. Again...thanks for all the advice and thoughts. I'll report back later in the spring and/or fall.