Hello,
I'm relatively new to gardening and have decided to start with turtle bush beans which I was told is a good beginner plant. Unfortunately my beans have been ravaged by a particular bug I just can't seem to identify. Any help identifying this particular bug would be greatly appercericated.
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NewbieGreenThumb
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HoneyBerry
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rainbowgardener
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It always helps to tell us where you are located.
The pictures aren't much help for ID'ing your bugs. The only one where a bug is visible as more than a dark splotch is the last one. The bug there could be some kind of fly, but it could be a winged adult aphid (aphids have a complex life cycle and the adults can be winged or wingless.)
In the middle picture, the mottling is consistent with the kind of damage inflicted by sucking insects. That could be aphids, leafhoppers, thrips, stink bugs/squash bugs, and others. If you have squash bugs, you would know it, because they are very large, black, ugly bugs, about the size of a nickel.
Aphids and leafhoppers are small. Thrips are minute. Leafhoppers are usually green, aphids come in a variety of colors. The aphids I am familiar with are yellow or green, but I know there are black ones. In order to have a lot of damage from aphids, you would have to have a lot of aphids:
If your bean plants were covered in aphids like that, you would think you would be aware of that.
If it is aphids, they are soft bodied insects that mostly just sit there. They are susceptible to being squashed or to soapy water spray.
What is all the white crystalline stuff on the leaves in the bottom picture? Have you already tried treating your plants with something?
The top picture presumably shows the damage. Along with the scars from piercing/sucking, there's yellowing and curling leaves. This can also be insect damage or disease. But the plants also have mature beans. Have you been picking beans for awhile? Bean plants are annuals. They will produce beans for awhile, but then they are done.
The pictures aren't much help for ID'ing your bugs. The only one where a bug is visible as more than a dark splotch is the last one. The bug there could be some kind of fly, but it could be a winged adult aphid (aphids have a complex life cycle and the adults can be winged or wingless.)
In the middle picture, the mottling is consistent with the kind of damage inflicted by sucking insects. That could be aphids, leafhoppers, thrips, stink bugs/squash bugs, and others. If you have squash bugs, you would know it, because they are very large, black, ugly bugs, about the size of a nickel.
Aphids and leafhoppers are small. Thrips are minute. Leafhoppers are usually green, aphids come in a variety of colors. The aphids I am familiar with are yellow or green, but I know there are black ones. In order to have a lot of damage from aphids, you would have to have a lot of aphids:
If your bean plants were covered in aphids like that, you would think you would be aware of that.
If it is aphids, they are soft bodied insects that mostly just sit there. They are susceptible to being squashed or to soapy water spray.
What is all the white crystalline stuff on the leaves in the bottom picture? Have you already tried treating your plants with something?
The top picture presumably shows the damage. Along with the scars from piercing/sucking, there's yellowing and curling leaves. This can also be insect damage or disease. But the plants also have mature beans. Have you been picking beans for awhile? Bean plants are annuals. They will produce beans for awhile, but then they are done.
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NewbieGreenThumb
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Thanks for the replies,
I'm located in Tampa Florida.
There aren't many of these black bugs, like in the picture you posted rainbowgardner nor as big. The top picture with the actual bean pods has been around for at least 6 months and I have pulled off a total of three bean pods. The other pictures or beans that were planted two weeks ago. I have not used any pesticides or sprays on any of the beans. The white lines could be from leaf miners possibly?
I'm located in Tampa Florida.
There aren't many of these black bugs, like in the picture you posted rainbowgardner nor as big. The top picture with the actual bean pods has been around for at least 6 months and I have pulled off a total of three bean pods. The other pictures or beans that were planted two weeks ago. I have not used any pesticides or sprays on any of the beans. The white lines could be from leaf miners possibly?
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NewbieGreenThumb
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HoneyBerry
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I tried something once that worked for me. I needed to ID a spider. I carefully captured it in a jar and then looked at it closely with a magnifying glass. I compared what I saw through the magnifying glass to pictures on the internet. I had it natrowed down to 2 spiders to begin with, so the magnifying glass helped me figure out precisely which spider it was.
Aphids are the first thing that shows up when I plant a vegetable garden Ladybugs are a good bug to have around to control aphids.
Aphids are the first thing that shows up when I plant a vegetable garden Ladybugs are a good bug to have around to control aphids.
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rainbowgardener
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interesting. You did get a better picture of it. If that is your culprit, we have to assume it is in the "true bug" family, that has piercing/sucking mouthparts, because that is the kind of damage being done. But I can't find a good match for it. It might be some kind of beetle, but beetles are usually chewers not suckers.
The marks are not from leaf miners. Their trails look like this:
distinct squiggly lines.
Looks like it might not be as soft bodied as aphids, so best control might be Neem oil.
The marks are not from leaf miners. Their trails look like this:
distinct squiggly lines.
Looks like it might not be as soft bodied as aphids, so best control might be Neem oil.
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ButterflyLady29
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Looks like flea beetles of some type. This site has a homemade recipe for control, don't know if it works or not:
https://www.almanac.com/content/flea-beetles
https://www.almanac.com/content/flea-beetles