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What Are Jumping Beans?

Jumping beans, also called Mexican jumping beans, jump, jerk and roll around in hot temperatures. They are entertaining for children of all ages. Jumping beans aren't actually beans, however; they are seed pods that grow naturally in Mexico. They are easy to care for, and they're inexpensive.

Definition
- Jumping beans are three-sided seed pods from a shrub called Sebastiana pavoniana that grows in Mexico. They jump and lurch about when put in a warm or hot location.
How Jumping Beans Work
- Jumping beans contain larvae of Mexican jumping bean moths. Whenever the larvae move around, the beans jump. They will carry on moving for weeks and even months as long as they're exposed to temperatures 98.6 degrees or higher. Temperatures higher than 120 degrees will kill them.
Life Cycle of Jumping Beans
- The female Mexican jumping bean moth lays her eggs on the ovaries of the flowers on the Sebastiana pavoniana in springtime. When the eggs hatch, they eat into the flowers' ovaries. In late summer, the seeds ripen and split, expelling the carpals. The larvae continue to dwell inside the carpals until wintertime when they weave cocoons around their bodies. They emerge from their cocoons as moths the following spring or summer.
Caring for Mexican Jumping Beans
- Jumping beans move under light and in warm temperatures. You should keep them under light and within 99 to 105 degree temperatures most of the time to allow them to exercise. Spray or sprinkle them with clean water weekly.

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