On 3 Jun 2004 08:40:17 -0700, (JJGrey) wrote:

Janice wrote in message . ..
On 2 Jun 2004 15:06:05 -0700, (JJGrey) wrote:

The edges of my pole bean leaves appear cut and turn back, and under
each part of the leaf that is turned back is a small worm. I would
like to identify the insect and find out how to control it.
Thanks,
John G.

caterpillars .. use BT ..(bacillus thurengiensis.. hope that is
spelled right).. comes in powder or liquid. Liquid would be easier to
get on all leaf surfaces if you have a garden sprayer.

BT only affects caterpillars.. it paralyzes their gut. while they
don't drop dead immediately, they stop feeding, in a few days turn to
a bag of juices and fall off! Muahahahahahaha ;-D

It's not a pesticide or poison. What part of the world you in? I've
never had anything on my beans like that.

Janice

I am in New Orleans, La. I hadn't grown beans in a long time. I have
grown mostly okra, tomatoes and peppers and had never seen this kind
of pest. These worms are very small, not quite 1/4" long, have a light
colored body and a darker head. The best way that I can describe the
damage is if you took a scissors and made small snips at various
distances along the edge of the leaves and then turned the flaps back.
Maybe someone knows the name of this pest. I searched under "pests of
beans" but could find nothing.
John

Ahhh bound to have more problems in warm climates from pests..no
frosts to kill 'em off!

BT should kill them. Hopefully there aren't a lot of them, as someone
else has mentioned hand picking may be the most expedient solution if
there aren't a lot of them.

I'd take one to your local agriculture extension agent to see if they
can identify them. May be they'll be very interested in them! Up here
in Idaho, we have a different pest on beans, and since it's an
agricultural state, and beans are one of the large crops, they go to
the extremes of canvassing homes door to door asking people if they
have a garden and if they're growing beans, and they want to inspect
them to make sure there are no Mexican Bean Beetles on them. They are
lighter orange than lady bugs, and have 13 spots, and their legs and
another part of them I think are light colored rather than black.

So, it's a good idea to see if you can get it identified, but yes it
is very difficult to find information on the larval stage of pests,
any of them. There are some photos of the larvae in the pest books
that I have, but by and large, they aren't provided.

This may be what you have: Bean leafroller.
http://creatures.ifas.ufl.edu/veg/bean/BL_larva.htm photo of larva

http://creatures.ifas.ufl.edu/veg/bean/beanleaf.htm start of the
page that discusses the pest, shows the butterfly that lays the eggs
etc.. and shows something eating worm.

Hope that's it.

Janice