The bean leaf beetle, Cerotoma trifurcata (Forster), is a widespread pest of soybean in the major crop production areas of the U.S. It has been a significant problem in the South but, until the last decade, was an infrequent problem in the Midwest. During earlier times, the major concern was early season invasion of soybean fields and localized problems of seedling defoliation. In the 1980's, however, grower reports of pod feeding were received, and these have increased significantly until the present. Indeed, today the bean leaf beetle has become the most consistently important insect problem on soybean in our region. The purpose of this presentation is to update specialists on the soybean and outline a basic integrated pest management (IPM) system for the species in Iowa. To accomplish this, we will discuss foundation elements of IPM, including identification and biology, sampling for adults and pod injury, and economic thresholds. We will conclude by describing both preventive and curative tactics that can be employed to reduce losses from this growing pest problem.