Nicholas Seiter 
IL Extension
nseiter@illinois.edu

Nicholas Seiter 
IL Extension
nseiter@illinois.edu

NICHOLAS SEITER UPDATES

Region 5 | August 6, 2025 | Champaign

Nick Seiter
nseiter@illinois.edu

Caption: Adult redheaded flea beetle on a corn leaf
SYNOPSIS

We had a few corn leaf aphid reports, but nothing approaching what we saw last year; those should be winding down as most of the crop progresses well into the reproductive stages. I’ve received several identification requests for the redheaded flea beetle, so I thought I would share a photo. These have been easy to find this year in both corn and soybeans; every few years, we see abnormally high numbers. As you can see from the picture, they resemble the corn flea beetle (the vector of Stewart’s wilt), but they are much larger—maybe 3/16″ to 1/4″ long—and have a reddish-brown head, as the name suggests. While they will feed on corn and soybean foliage and can be found quite easily in corn silks, I’ve never seen them approach economically damaging levels.