Red-headed Flea Beetle - Cooperative Extension: Cranberries - University of Maine Cooperative Extension

Order: Coleoptera || Family: Chrysomelidae Scientific Name: Systena frontalis (F.)

: Red-headed flea beetle on the rim of a 12″-diameter insect sweep net (Be looking for these guys late in the season, August and September)

: Several Red-headed flea beetles (Late August 2009) (inside a sweep net)

: Three Red-headed flea beetles (Late August 2009) (inside a sweep net)

: Red-headed flea beetle (magnified) (the head has a slightly reddish tint)

: A Red-headed flea beetle resting on top of a Maine cranberry – Late August 2009 (adults feed on the leaves primarily but they will gouge berries some as well)

: Maine cranberry leaves injured by Red-headed flea beetles (Photographed 9/9/2014) (adults feed on primarily the undersides of the leaves)

General Notes: Adult Red-headed flea beetles feed on the undersides of the leaves, while usually leaving the top leaf surface intact. But they also gouge the berries, and overall, their feeding can significantly impact bud development for the following year if their populations