Pest Profile

Various species of blister beetles can aggregate in soybean fields, but foliage feeding is generally localized. Only large groups of beetles will cause economic losses. Rarely is more than spot treatment required. Research has shown that soybean plants can withstand as much as 35 percent foliage loss during the blooming period. But when pods are forming and beginning to fill, a foliage loss of 20 percent or more may decrease yields. Defoliation rarely causes a yield reduction
after the beans are nearly filled.