Blackheaded Fireworm - Cooperative Extension: Cranberries - University of Maine Cooperative Extension

Order: Lepidoptera || Family: Tortricidae Scientific Name: Rhopobota naevana (Hübner)

: Blackheaded fireworm egg

: Blackheaded fireworm eggs on cranberry leaves (ordinarily a single leaf would not have multiple eggs on it, but the moths were held in captivity with very few leaves at their disposal)

: Closer view of the Blackheaded fireworm egg shown in the adjacent (left) photo

: A pair of Blackheaded fireworm eggs on the underside of a cranberry leaf

: Three hatched/empty blackheaded fireworm eggs

: Empty Blackheaded fireworm eggs on the underside of a cranberry leaf (7/20/16); the moth that deposited the eggs was in captivity with only a few cranberry uprights/leaves at her disposal.

: Blackheaded fireworm larva (full-sized; final instar)

: Blackheaded fireworm larva

: A 1st-generation blackheaded fireworm larva, downeast Maine – June 17th, 2019. Look for the shiny black head to help with identification.

: Cranberry leaves damaged by Blackheaded fireworm larvae (they feed by skeletonizing the leaves)

: A fireworm-damaged cranberry leaf (left) next to an undamaged cranberry leaf (right)

: Two cranberry leaves with feeding injury from Blackheaded fireworm larvae

: A cranberry tip occupied by a Blackheaded fireworm larva (in Maine, be watchful for this in June each year)

: Cranberry tips pulled/webbed together and occupied by a Blackheaded fireworm larva

: Another example of some cranberry tips pulled and webbed together by a Blackheaded fireworm larva (some frass is also visible in this picture: little black droppings that are visible on the lower leaves)

: Another cranberry tip damaged by a Blackheaded fireworm larva hidden between the leaves

: A cranberry bed with a noticeable dark area that was ravaged by Blackheaded fireworm larvae (2nd-generation larvae) (photographed August 20th – downeast Maine) (be watchful in July and August for the 2nd generation of larvae)

: A pair of Blackheaded fireworm pupae (photographed June 21st in central Maine)

: Blackheaded fireworm adult/moth (they are quite small)

: A Blackheaded fireworm moth (picture taken June 22nd – central Maine)

photos by C. Armstrong Description: Adults / Moths: The adults are very small, only about 1/4-inch in length, dark in color, with alternating light and dark gray-brown bands on their forewings. They are active at dusk, and can be seen hovering