Mexican bean beetle

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Mexican bean beetle
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Arthropoda
Class: Insecta
Order: Coleoptera
Infraorder: Cucujiformia
Family: Coccinellidae
Genus: Epilachna
Species:
E. varivestis
Binomial name
Epilachna varivestis
Mulsant, 1850
Synonyms
  • Epilachna cervina Mulsant, 1850
  • Epilachna corrupta Mulsant, 1850
  • Epilachna cuprea Cockerell, 1918
  • Epilachna genuina Mulsant, 1850
  • Epilachna juncta Johnson, 1910
  • Epilachna maculiventris Bland, 1864
  • Epilachna toweri Johnson, 1910[1]
Wikispecies has information related to Epilachna varivestis.
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The Mexican bean beetle (Epilachna varivestis) is a species of lady beetle that can be an agricultural pest. It is one of the few North American lady beetles that feed on plants rather than other insects. It is found throughout Mexico and the eastern United States, and is abundant in the wetter and more heavily irrigated areas west of the Rocky Mountains. It does not tolerate extremely dry areas.

Identification

Adults are similar in appearance to other lady beetles, oval-shaped, approximately 6 to 7 millimeters long and bearing eight black spots on each

pupation.[2]

Distribution

Mexican bean beetle is present in the United States and found in most eastern states of the United States and Mexico. It can be found as far south as Guatemala and north into southern Canada or New England. The Mexican bean beetle is likely native to the southern plateau region of Mexico. Presence depends on the factors such as precipitation. It does not cause significant crop damage in Guatemala and Mexico, but can be abundant in isolated areas of the western United States.[2]

Feeding

Both adults and larvae feed on leaf, flower, or pod tissue on

Chinese wisteria and lupines. Adult beetles may eat the fruits and flowers of the plants, but generally prefer the leaves. Feeding damage is most prevalent from skeletonization where beetles feed on the parenchyma of the leaves from the underside, leaving the upper epidermis intact. This gives the leaf a lacy appearance. The larvae generally do much more damage than the adults.[2]

Life cycle

Adults emerge from dormancy in late spring, and each female lays several hundred eggs in clusters of 50 to 75 on bean plant leaves.[

pupate in groups under the leaves. They winter as adults, and often travel long distances to find new fields.[2]

Control

The parasitoid wasp Pediobius foveolatus can be used as augmentative biological control against the Mexican bean beetle.[3]

Systemic insecticides are commonly used at planting where Mexican bean beetle is a frequent pest. Some of these insecticides do not persist in the plant long enough to protect the plant from early generations. Delayed planting or a trap crop can reduce the likelihood of significant populations.[2]

References

  1. ^ McNamara J., 1991. Family Coccinellidae (ladybird beetles). In: Bousquet, Y. (Ed.), Checklist of beetles of Canada and Alaska. Research Branch, Agriculture Canada. Publication 1861/E., Ottawa. 430pp
  2. ^ a b c d e "Mexican bean beetle - Epilachna varivestis Mulsant". entnemdept.ufl.edu. Retrieved 3 April 2020.
  3. ^ "Mexican Bean Beetle, Biological Control". Center for Agriculture, Food and the Environment. 14 January 2015. Retrieved 3 April 2020.

Further reading

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