As the summer continues, we have seen increasing bug pressure in many of our crops. The Mexican Bean Beetle has proved particularly destructive this season and has significantly decreased the yield of all three varieties of our beans. The characteristic shriveling of the leaves, while devastating to the plant, often resembles lace.
According to the University of Illinois' Integrated Pest Management Website:
The Mexican bean beetle is one of only two North American species of destructive insects in an otherwise beneficial family (ladybird beetles) that contains over 400 species. Adult Mexican bean beetles feed on seedlings early in the season. The larvae feed on leaves; in their early growth stages, they feed exclusively on the lower surface of the leaf. Bean pods may also be scarred, but this damage is seldom considered economic. Soybeans near woodlots, alfalfa fields, and fields where residues have not been plowed are most likely to incur damage. Though the Mexican bean beetle has mandibles that are typical of chewing insects, it does not swallow bits of food. Rather, it masticates its food and consumes the resultant juices. The foliage of garden beans such as snap, kidney, pinto, and lima are preferred, but Mexican bean beetles can also be serious pests of soybeans. The beetles also feed on alfalfa, clover, peanut, okra, eggplant, squash, and various weeds. Both larvae and adults impart a skeletonized or lacy appearance to leaves by consuming the leaves' epidermal layers. Heavily infested soybean fields take on a dusty appearance as leaves shrivel and turn brown. (http://www.ipm.uiuc.edu/fieldcrops/insects/mexican_bean_beetle/index.html)
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