Please help this newbie in Wisconsin- potato and bean pests

I started a vegetable garden for the first time this year, so I don't know too much about diseases and pests yet. I have been searching this site trying to identify the little critters on my vegetables. I have been able to identify the little 'leaf-hoppers' that are on my green beans. But I have not been able to identify the black and yellow striped bugs (beetles?) that are all over my cucumbers and green beans. I am getting furstrated as my beans are looking pretty pale, with lots of holes and brown spots. Some of the holes have that 'lacy' design to them.

Also my potatoes leaves are turning yellow, the edges are turning brown and curling up. Is it time for the potatoes to die back already? Or do I maybe have some disease?

I will try and post pictures as soon as my camera is fixed, but I thought I'd better ask for help before the situation becomes worse.
Thanks! P.S. I just joined this website and I must say I think it is awesome!

You are probably talking about cucumber beetles. They're bad news, because apart from the straight up physical damage they cause, they also carry a bacterial wilt that will cause cucumber vines to die rapidly. It can be hard to control these. I don't know if you want to go organic or conventional, but either way, you probably want to do any spraying of pesticides after the blossoms are closed and the bees aren't active.

Are the same beetles on the beans, or are those Mexican bean beetles? If you do a google search for either of these bugs, choose "images" above the search window, then return, and you should have plenty of photos of them to look at and help you w/ identification.

Also, my potatoes ended early this year. I don't know what killed them, but when I dug, there were plenty of very large potatoes down there.

Edited to add that your local master gardeners may also be able to help (see the local chapters) at http://www.hort.wisc.edu/mastergardener/ Not that you shouldn't ask here! It's just sometimes it's helpful to have local advice, as one pest may be more prevalent in an area than another.

This message was edited Aug 3, 2006 10:10 AM

Thanks so much! I think you are right, it is the cucumber beetle. I was confused because I did a search on bug files for cucumber beetles, and they just had a picture of a spotted one. But Googling it showed a striped kind as well. I also found brown spots on my beans that I think are from the bean leaf beetles. Add the leaf hoppers to the mix and no wonder my beans are suffering.

Maybe I should take one of those master gardening course. It looks so interesting and informative.

I find that most of the "cucumber" beetles at this time of the year in the corn belt are actually western corn root worm beetles and southern corn root worm beetles [spotted cucumber beetle is another name]. These striped beetles are more black than yellow but are more pesty on green beans, corn silks, and cukes than regular cucumber beetles.

Okay, I just went out to re-inspect my beans and cukes, and there are 3 kinds of bugs crawling all over them. Some have more defined yellow and black stripe- the cucumber beetles I think, some are like the western corn root beetles, and some look like pictures I have seen of the northern corn root beetles. Yuck! I went and bought some Bon- Neem insecticidal soap. I don't know if it will work on all three pests, but I hope so.

Thanks for all your help!