How to Identify and Control Mexican Bean Beetles

As an established soft-hearted person and gardener, I strive to love all creatures great and small. But Mexican bean beetles, Epilachna varivestis, put me to the test.

These bugs and their larvae plague different types of bean plants in the home garden.

I grow legumes in East Tennessee, where mid-to-late summer is sometimes described as “hell’s doorstep.” Mexican bean beetles do their worst damage in just that type of weather. 

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Often, I’ll have a crop of ‘Christmas’ limas or ‘Cherokee Wax’ beans coming along nicely when they appear and start decimating leaves, which can downgrade the yields to adequate rather than abundant, or even cause plants to die.

It just seems mean, that’s all.

On the plus side, Mexican bean beetles can defoliate as much as 20 percent of a plant’s leaves without doing any substantial damage to the crop, and they only rarely consume enough blooms or pods to make a difference to the harvest.

Also, if you’re alert, you can prevent these pretty-but-harmful bugs from attacking – or from gaining a stronghold once they appear.

In this guide, we’ll look at our foe, with plenty of tips for identifying, controlling, and preventing these beneficial ladybug lookalikes. Here’s what I’ll cover:

E. varivestis are a variety of ladybug, and they’ll eat bean plants during their adult and larval phases.

Don’t let their common moniker trick you – they’re also known to attack other legumes like alfalfa and clover, and will nosh on foliage from eggplants, okra, and squash, too.

Since the adults are able to fly in search