I kept thinking, “My Dad, Grandpa, and a few Grandpa’s before that would not believe this is happening on their farm.”

My niece Karen (who lives on the homestead) knows I love special photo opportunities, and called shortly after 9 am on Friday to tell me I may want to watch the drone that will be spraying their soybeans in a few minutes. I went outside to wait and soon saw it! This is the field across the road from our house.

By the time it got close to our house, Karen’s husband Larry pulled into our driveway because he saw me sitting on the rock at the edge of our yard.

He said their “field man” discovered Mexican Bean Beetles in our area and in their fields. When I googled that name, and saw a picture, I remembered seeing some of them earlier this summer, because they look like a yellow Ladybug. I thought maybe they were immature ladybugs. Mexican Bean Beetles: Identification, Damage and Control (With Pictures)

This is how the Internet described them and their destructive ways. Mexican Bean Beetles are found throughout the United States except for the driest areas. They do the same type of damage as Japanese beetles, leaving skeletons of foliage up and down your garden. Mexican bean beetles look like yellow/brown ladybugs that eat leaves, and they are, in fact, a relative of the ladybug. Don’t be fooled by the name—although they are partial to beans, they can also affect your beet, pea, squash, and tomato crop.

I was pleased that after finishing the field across the road, he parked in front of our house to spray the field to our south.

He gave me permission to photograph it up close – with him in the picture – as he put fuel in it. Notice he is holding a laptop. That is what he kept an eye on as he sprayed the fields.

Ready for takeoff.

In front of our house. If you look closely, you can see Cerwin watching from a patio chair.

As it was spraying, I walked to the neighbor’s house behind us to let them know about the drone, because they love to give their little boys a variety of learning experiences. Dani thanked me several times, because they would probably have missed it because they were busy in the house and the boys were playing in the basement. The boys seemed fascinated.

Finished and heading back to the truck. He also landed it when he was getting low on gas. If I remember correctly, it held only 10 gallons of fuel.

Almost down.

On the ground and ready to load and move on to the next farm.

It was fun seeing one up close. I have seen them in pictures, but never in person.