Who or What is munching my green beans?
About 2 weeks ago I planted green bean seeds all over a small raised garden bed. They emerged in 5-7 days and were putting out leaves and growing quickly in the warm sun. I went out daily to check on the progress of my plants and one day I noticed little holes on many of the seedlings. Several had been eaten back to just a little stem sticking out of the soil! I said "That's it, if the bugs eat all these plants, I'll never plant anything again!!" I inspected the leaves, but didn't spy any munching bugs or caterpillars (luckily for them) and I kept watering the seedlings hoping for the best. I checked Google and read that several types of insects attack green bean plants;
#1 Sap Suckers which are usually thrips, aphids, spider mites and whiteflies are all insects that leave little round holes in the leaves, however I didn't think these were the culprits as the plants didn't exhibit any other signs of this type of infestation, i.e., discoloration, distortions and premature leaf drop.
#2 Chewing Caterpillars such as larval stages of moths and butterflies, armyworms, leafminers and cutworms are chewing caterpillars that can also feed on green bean plants. I inspected the little plants and didn't see any sign of these critters and since the plants weren't chewed and defoliated I thought I could rule them out as well.
#3 Slimy Pests like snails and slugs can also cause small holes in the leaves. I could narrow it down to slugs since snails do not survive her, and I did not see the slimy silver trail across the leaves or soil that would indicate a slug.
#4 Munching Bugs which could be many beetles, weevils, lygus bugs (also known as the tarnished plant bug) and stinkbugs. The description of "munching bugs" makes me chuckle a bit as I picture a line of bugs marching through my garden. A Google search brings up much information on munching bugs and if you ask for images of munching bugs there are even pictures of people....you guessed it...munching bugs! ICK! Well, back to my bean plants. Since I could not really see any type of insect I just decided to let nature take it's course and in a few days my plants were up to 7 inches tall and the new growth seemed to be free of holes. Now I am back to trying to find 101 ways to cook and or eat green beans as I expect a bumper crop (provided it doesn't hail or rain so hard that it will destroy them, a real possibility as we are approaching Monsoon season).
Oh Snap! 31 Green Bean Recipes! - Southern Living
www.southernliving.com › Food › Entertaining
The key to this dish is developing a nice char on the green beans. To do so, heat the oil in your skillet until it almost smokes before adding the beans. Let them sear, stirring every 20 to 30 seconds, and they'll take on color. Feel free to sub thinly sliced strips of red bell pepper instead of hot chiles.