The Colorado potato beetle, Leptinotarsa decemlineata Say, is a arguably the most destructive insect pest of potato and famous for its ability to evolve resistance to insecticides. Quantifying insect preference towards potato varieties is an important, but labor-intensive objective that is difficult to perform uniformly across multiple locations. A small-scale field study was conducted at the Hermiston Agricultural Research and Extension Center in Hermiston, Umatilla Co., Oregon US, to assess our ability to evaluate L. decemlineata preference of ten potato clones with and without Imidacloprid treatment, using human index scoring and remote sensing techniques. Ten potato cultivars, including six russet clones that occupy significant acreage in the Pacific Northwest (Alturas, Castle Russet, Clearwater Russet, Payette Russet, Russet Norkotah, Russet Burbank), three experimental clones (Dakota Diamond, Echo Russet, F14085), and a reported susceptible clone (Shepody) were planted in 5-hill, replicated plots. Insect activity was estimated by tabulating the number of egg masses, larvae, adult insects, and index estimation of defoliation, and indirectly using a multispectral sensor fixed to a small, unmanned aerial system (sUAS) aka drone, at weekly intervals. Our results suggest that the Colorado potato beetle exhibits consistent preferences towards different potato cultivars and that remote sensing techniques can be used to estimate plant defoliation throughout the field season.