Proof of a predator: Mexican bean beetles at work!

For the last few years, I've lived in fear of getting my beans annihilated.  Our first year trying to grow organically, I tried Neem oil to deter pests from my beans.  That year, two boxes of green beans, a box of red beans, and a box of lima beans all met their gruesome demise.  Based on the holes in the leaves and listed expected predators from reading, I suspected it was the Mexican Bean Beetle that did all that damage.  I looked numerous times, but was never able to know definitively what critter it was that did it.

Until today.

Today, as I was preparing to apply some bug dust, I looked down and saw one of the little buggers going to town on some of the beans.  I crushed him with a certain degree of glee.  Then it occurred to me that I should have taken a picture for the blog.

After a little more looking, I found one of his family members and, after taking his mug shot, executed him in a similar manner as his cousin.

So now I know for certain what's been eating my bean plants.


I'm going to try to remember to do some research into whether there are any varieties of heirloom beans that the Bean Beetles don't care for.  I really would prefer to be fully organic; Seven dust isn't organic.  Unfortunately, row covers are the only "organic" method I can think of that would truly keep the beetles off the plants.  Also unfortunate is that I prefer pole beans to bush beans (far easier on my back and knees) which means that row covers aren't viable.