Sweet Potato Flea Beetle vs Scarlet Pergid Sawfly

Side-by-side species comparison

Attribute Sweet Potato Flea Beetle Scarlet Pergid Sawfly
Scientific Name Chaetocnema confinis Pergagrapta polita
Order Coleoptera Hymenoptera
Family Chrysomelidae Pergidae
Size 1.5-2 mm 10-16 mm
Habitat Farmland Woodlands
Diet Herbivores Herbivores
Regions North America Eastern Australia
Conservation Least Concern Least Concern

Sweet Potato Flea Beetle

A minute, shiny bronze-black flea beetle with enlarged hind legs for jumping. It creates linear feeding tracks in sweet potato tubers, reducing their market quality.

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Did You Know?

Larvae tunnel into sweet potato tubers creating winding tracks just under the skin, causing cosmetic damage that significantly reduces marketable yield.

Scarlet Pergid Sawfly

A brightly colored Australian sawfly with a polished dark body and reddish highlights. Larvae feed on eucalyptus and are often found in clusters.

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Did You Know?

The genus Pergagrapta is endemic to Australia and represents part of the remarkable radiation of pergid sawflies on that continent.