Bean leaf beetle

blevinandwomba

My very young bean plants have huge holes in the leaves(actually the cotyledons). I checked under all of them and found a small, longish red beetle, whom I assumed was a mexican bean beetle and swiftly dispatched. After I thought about it, I wasn't so sure, so I turned to my friend the internet. It was definitely not a Mexican bean beetle https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mexican_bean_beetle

Though apparently they can be red, my beetle was a totally different shape. So I did a search for insects that eat beans, and came across this https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bean_leaf_beetle

This looks much more like the one I found, and it specifically targets cotyledons. I'd never even heard of this beetle before. Anyone else have experience with it?