This yield loss can occur in several ways. Pods may be clipped from the plants, or fungal pathogens may enter the pod, causing seeds to appear shrunken, discolored, and moldy. This injury reduces seed quality. Some bean leaf beetles are red instead of yellow. Beetles injure pods by feeding on the outside layer of the soybean pod, leaving a thin layer of tissue still covering the seed.
Grasshoppers also feed on pods, but they bite completely through the pod and into the seed.
Bean leaf beetle feeding on soybean pod. Bean leaf beetles can be shaken onto a white cloth and counted. Walk 100 feet in from the field edge. Each field, and each variety within a field, should be scouted separately. Bend the plants over the cloth, and shake them vigorously.