Red-Headed Flea Beetle

**Red-headed flea beetle (Systena frontalis)**

Overwinter as tiny, pale yellow, oval-shaped eggs
Grubs hatch during the second half of May
Reddish head with shiny black thorax and abdomen
Enlarged femur at the hind legs allows the beetle to “hop”
2-3 generations per season
Feeding on thinner leaves produces skeletonized symptoms or a shredded appearance
On thicker leaves, feeding symptoms can mimic the light-colored leaf patterns seen from leaf miners
Host plants: Extensive host range
- Itea, Weigela, Hydrangea, Rudbeckia, Salvia, Buddleia, Veronica, Coreopsis
- Corn, soybean, potatoes, cranberries, blueberries, smartweed, jewelweed, Joe-Pye weed

Natural predators: solider beetle larvae, lacewing larvae, big-eyed bugs, damsel bugs, beneficial nematodes, entomopathogenic fungi
Avoid placing susceptible plants in the same area year after year
Avoid placing new crop next to ‘hold-overs’ from previous season
Systemic applications 3-4wk prior to1st generation adults is effective
Please refer to this RHFB materials and timing chart. Refer to the link for material considerations at various life stages.

Materials:

Contact insecticides:
- Pyrethroids [3]: –thrins
- Carbamates [1A]: carbaryl
- METI [21A]: Tolfenpyrad
Systemic insecticides: (larvae only, ~June application):
- Translaminar systemics:
  - Organophosphates [1B] – Acephate
  - Diamides[28]: Cyclaniliprole, + Flonicamid [29]
- Systemics:
  - Neonicotinoids [4A]: imidacloprid, dinotefuran
  - Diamides [28] (see biorationals)
Considerations:
- Apply systemic 3-4wk prior to adult emergence (Adults = 517 GDD50)
- Knock-down contact insecticides will harm non-target species, and will require regular applications