PARMA, Idaho — Insects and other arthropods — from bad to beneficial — are the subjects of a new study of their impact on southern Idaho’s dry bean crop.

Entomologist Armando Falcon-Brindis is leading the study.

The comprehensive findings that he and his team seek would be “something that growers consider of high value,” said Falcon-Brindis, who is based at the University of Idaho Parma Research and Extension Center. “Not only finding the suspect, but who did it — feeding on the plant or causing the damage.”

Identifying insects and other arthropods and detailing any damage they do or benefits they provide to different bean varieties is at the heart of the study.

Growers in south-central and southwest Idaho will play key roles, Falcon-Brindis said. Seven to 10 growers will be involved initially.

The project also involves a master’s level and a doctoral student, summer interns and an Idaho Bean Commission grant of about $9,000.

Tasks include observing, collecting and photographing insects and other arthropods, assessing crop damage, looking at specimens under microscopes, identifying them and pinning them in display boxes.

“The idea is to build strong knowledge, reliable knowledge” through a regional approach, said Falcon-Brindis, who aims to ultimately develop a field guide that growers can use for identification and comparison. “There is plenty of room for research and this is just the beginning.”

An overarching goal is to help growers make better management decisions, he said.

With comprehensive and specific knowledge, spraying could be directed toward species that cause damage, Falcon-Brindis said.

“And if you have beneficials, you are making sure somebody is taking care of pests so you don’t have to, necessarily,” he said, referring to beneficial insects.

Observations over two to three seasons are planned to account for year-to-year changes in conditions, Falcon-Brindis said. For example, extreme weather in one year could take out a prevalent insect or other arthropod species, or otherwise change the pool of species.

“A lot of growers do not know which insect is responsible for certain damage, and they could blame other insects for that,” he said. “But the reality is that in every crop system we find a pool of species.”

The study is believed to be the first that identifies different insects, arthropods and the damage they are causing in the region’s beans, in contrast to anecdotal information.

And in some ways, the study ties into work that Falcon-Brindis has done on his own after moving from the University of Kentucky to UI at the start of 2024.

“You have to make sure you are looking at the right bugs,” he said. “There are many lookalikes.”