Feb 8, 2016

New research offers tips for managing Mexican bean beetle

A study featured in the Journal of Integrated Pest Management (JIPM) is offering new insights into managing the Mexican bean beetle without using insecticides. The article “Natural History, Ecology and Management of the Mexican Bean Beetle in the United States” was published in January issue of JIPM.

Although populations aren’t as high in the U.S. as they once were, Mexican bean beetles are still causing devastating damage in the Mid-Atlantic and southern Appalachian Mountain regions, according to the article.

The study’s authors Louis Nottingham and Tom Kuhar of the Virginia Tech Department of Entomology, found that the use of reflective plastic mulch showed potential as a cultural strategy to lessen damage. Mexican bean beetle bug adults and larvae are less likely to survive when forced to remain in direct light, and the use of reflective plastic mulch increases shortwave light intensity, Nottingham and Kuhar found.

“Field experiments at Virginia Tech have shown that Mexican bean beetle are less likely to colonize and deposit eggs on beans planted on metalized and white plastic mulches, compared to bare ground and black plastic,” according to the study.

Other cultural pest management strategies discussed in the article include timed planting, trap crops, resistant crops and staggered planting dates.

Mechanical and biological control methods were also analyzed in the study.

Nottingham is conducting an online survey to track populations. To fill out the survey, click here.

To read the full article, visit the JIPM website.