What is That!?

It was early morning and I was ambling through the dew laden garden. I noticed the green beans were being eaten by some unknown creature and they were doing quite a number on the plants. Basically only the leaf skeleton remained. Then, on closer inspection, I saw these strange spiky, yellow "things." They kind of looked scary and dangerous with all their spikes.

Were they growths? What were they?

I also noticed a bunch of what looked like yellow lady beetles. Were the yellow "growths" related to the beetles? I have to admit, I had no idea.

So, I kept turning over leaves and observing. Finally I came across a lady beetle that had just emerged from the "growth." A light bulb went off in my head and I realized that those "growths" were actually the pupa stage. How cool! Now I was scanning each leaf with renewed interest and soon discovered the whole life cycle of the beetle.  

A clump of eggs

Look at those spikes!!

A larva happily eating away at the leaf

The pupa stage

A close-up of the pupa (one about to hatch and one that has already hatched)

Since they were not the traditional red lady beetles, I did some research and found out they are actually called the Mexican Bean Beetle, and they were no where near as beneficial as other ladybugs. It was a perfect name for them since they were voraciously eating away at the green beans. I also learned that they are one of the few lady beetles that eat plants instead of eating other insects. It is considered one of the most destructive insect pest of beans in the United States. In other words, the adult form may look harmless, but when it comes to crops it can be devastating.

And so I learned something new!