How to spot it

Copper-orange beetles about 1/4 inch long with 16 black spots. They look like ladybugs, but they're always on beans. The larvae are yellow and spiny; yellow eggs stand in groups under leaves.

What it does

Adults and larvae eat the undersides of leaves, leaving lacy skeletons, and can strip whole plantings.

What to do now

• Pick adults, larvae, and egg groups off by hand.
• Spray neem or insecticidal soap under the leaves.
• In big plantings, release Pediobius wasps, sold for this beetle.

Keep it away next time

• Cover beans with row cover; beans pollinate themselves, so it can stay on.
• Plant early bush beans that finish before the beetles peak.
• Pull and compost plants as soon as the harvest ends.

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Plants it affects