Bean leaf beetles and bean pod mottle virus have gained much attention in recent years. However, neither of these pests is new in the Midwest. Bean leaf beetles were first reported as a pest in 1875, in Kansas. Then, in 1980, about 16,000 acres of soybean was treated for bean leaf beetles in Illinois. The magnitude of the bean leaf beetle problem in 1980 gained the respect of growers and researchers in the Midwest.