Sweet Potato Bug

There were only two of these bugs on the plants, today. However, going by past experience, I expect many more to arrive in the next few days. The first two photos show the first one that I noticed and it appears to be a gravid female. The other one is shown in the last two photos and, as you can see, it has started to lay its eggs. There are usually a pretty good number of eggs and this kind of bug is known to guard them until they hatch, or until it dies, whichever comes first. I will have to check on these bugs over the coming days