Right after identifying the Mexican Bean Beetles, we were introduced to their larvae who decimated half  of our Jacob Cattle Beans plants in a day.

To protect our other bean plantings, we immediately harvested all of the beans, cut off all of the plants at the root, and composted them.

This what our plants looked like before we cut them down…

More information on these pests can be found here…

Today two new beetles showed up on our beans.  They look a lot like lady beetles (beneficial), however their arrival coincides to some significant leaf damage.  Are they here to save the plants from some unseen threat or are they themselves the ones to blame?

According to Avant-Gardening they are most likely the culprits:

MEXICAN BEAN BEETLE
These are related to ladybugs but are not beneficial. The adults have sixteen black spots on their back and the Larvae are fat, spiny yellow grubs 1/3 inch long. Both feed on foliage, leaving plant leaves a skeleton of veins. Adults overwinter on plant leaves, in late spring or early summer lay clusters of yellow eggs on the undersides of leaves, and there can be one to four generations a year depending on different climates.

More information from North Carolina Integrated Pest Management Information.

For now, it seems we will have to settle for picking them off and destroying their eggs.

Today when we arrived, we were panicked by the sight of one of the corn stalks covered in these black insects.  They leaves and tassels were ensconced in these little black aphids.  Strangely, out of the entire block of corn, it was only one plant that was infested.  There are far too many to pick off.  The debate quickly turned to whether we should cut the entire plant and remove it, spray, or just wait and see.

A bit of research revealed:

Aphids do not interfere with pollination unless most corn tassels are heavily covered with aphids and their honeydew secretions. Feeding by large colonies of aphids can reduce yields significantly. Aphid colonies can slowly kill the tassel and top few leaves of a corn plant. The plant responds by shunting nutrients to the feeding area and not to the developing ear, resulting in stunted ears or even barren plants. ( read more )

Further observation also revealed that they were not spreading.  After a few days, the population reduced dramatically and the plant seems no worse for wear.  It will be interesting if the yield is affected.  It appears the worst case would be that we lost 2-3 ears of corn.

The three striped potato beetle is the insect pest of the past few weeks.  Fully grown, they look something like this:

They appear harmless enough.  In fact, when picked up they chirp which makes them rather endearing.  Their young, however, have no redeeming qualities.  Not only do they eat potatoes, tomatoes, and tomatillos, they have horrendous hygene habits.

They pile their excrement on their back in the name of self-defense.  Yes, I am less likely to pick one up bare handed know this, but it didn’t make sense how this would protect them from other predators.  Turns out the success of this strategy is linked to their choice of food.

These insects consume food that is full of harmful chemicals, but while they are constantly exposed to predators, their survival rate is very high. The frass-coated larvae Morton had noticed in Stony Brook were feeding on nightshade (Solanum dulcamara), a plant high in alkaloids–nitrogen-based compounds that are toxic to animals. Alkaloids include morphine, a derivative of poppies, and nicotine, a derivative of the tobacco plant. When the beetle larvae eat nightshade leaves, they absorb the useful nutrients and excrete the toxins, which are concentrated in their frass.

Penn State Agriculture Magazine

On my first visit to the farm in a few days, I found the tomatoes covered in white flies or aphids.  Some of the leaves were wilted.  I suspect the new squatters are to blame.

What to do?  I did a bit of research and found some reassuring information on Colorado State University’s Extension’s website:

Figure 6

Whiteflies and aphids (Figure 6) both cause leaf yellowing and leave a characteristic sticky excrement called honeydew. Leaves appear shiny and are somewhat sticky when honeydew is present. Damage usually is minimal on tomatoes and often can be ignored. If aphids become a problem, some applications of insecticidal soap are quite effective.

So we shouldn’t worry?  It is difficult to let them be with so many attached to our precious plants an some wilted leaves.  To be safe I sprayed them down with the mixture Chris made earlier.  No immediate results, but hopefully be tomorrow there will be at least a slight decline in the population.