[6] Eggs are orange and spindle shaped, and laid in the soil around the base of crops, typically soybeans.

[7] Adult beetles deposit eggs in the upper two inches of the soil at the base of crops, typically soybean.

These adults mate and lay their eggs 5–6 days after soybean emergence and decline in abundance by mid July.

[4] C. trifurcata adults overwinter in leaf litter in forests, and must migrate after emergence to fields for feeding and mating.

[9] This is beneficial in avoiding infestation and disease propagation because it means the beetles don’t often migrate, which would contribute to the spread of feeding and pathogens.

[9] Beetles flying long distances at the end of the season often had more fat content, suggesting that they were traveling to forests for overwintering.

[9] A study by Lam and Pedigo (2001) found that bean leaf beetles preferred to feed on soybeans with less trichome density.

[10] Trichomes, or surface hairs, are a form of plant defense that interfere with the movement of insects, reducing their access to the leaf epidermis.

[10] In addition, less feeding resulted in less inoculation by pathogens such as bean pod mottle virus and fungi.

The study suggests that more trichome density could be incorporated into soybean cultivars as a way to decrease damage by C. trifurcata feeding.

[7][12] Later in the season, as leaves mature, adult beetles will begin to feed on the outer layer of soybean pods.

This leaves the seeds vulnerable to excess moisture and pathogens, causing shrinking, discoloration, and mold.

[7] The exact mechanisms of virus spread is currently unknown, but it’s suspected to be specifically due to adult feeding of beetles.

Overwintered beetles and soybean seeds are possible primary inoculum, but transmission from perennial plants is best supported.

Other plants from the legume family Fabaceae, particularly Desmodium canadense, have been found to carry bean pod mottle virus.

[14] C. trifurcata is a prominent example for the global spread of pests towards the poles as climate change causes winters to become milder and growing seasons to increase in length.

[3] As the climate of the Mississippi Delta region gets warmer, it will become less hospitable for soybean and therefore for the bean leaf beetle.

Some models even predict difficulty growing soybean in more southern areas of the American Midwest, also decreasing beetle abundance.