Beanfly Infestation on Common Bean

Abstract

The population patterns of eggs, larvae and puparia on bean plants and leaf punctures made by adults were investigated during cropping (March-July; October-January) and noncropping (July-October) seasons at two sites in Kenya. Bean grown in noncropping seasons had more leaf punctures, eggs, larvae and puparia than bean grown in cropping seasons. Bean sown in noncropping seasons attracted unusually high beanfly populations from surrounding weeds as well as previous crops. Under field conditions, the Onhiomyi beanfly species, sencerella Greathead and 0. phasepli Tryon, bean infested plants in all seasons. Both species normally oviposited in punctures on the leavesbut 0. spencerella also oviposited in the stems of bean seedlings.