HEARING BEETLES. 279 



the two halves together with a strong rubber band. Slightly 

 moisten the wood in the box twice a week, and if the larva 

 escapes by boring a hole through the wood, replace it in 

 the central cavity by filling the hole with a plug. Mr. 

 Siewers raised the larvae of borers in tin or glass on wet 

 hard-wood or poplar sawdust ; he kept them for six or eight 

 months, changing the sawdust once a month. 



Certain larvae, especially those of Lamellicorns and Ela- 

 teridae, before transformation enter the earth. For such 

 species place some earth in the box, but not before the 

 larvae show a decided wish to go there by quickly boring 

 holes straight downwards ; for the earth in contact with the 

 moist wocd rapidly forms a deadly fungus. Of course the 

 earth for the breeding-boxes must be thuroughly baked, so 

 as to destroy all insects, etc., destructive to the helpless 

 soft-skinned pupae ; the larvae and pupae should also be 

 kept in darkness. 



Rearing of Bark and Bast-boring Beetles. Such insects, 

 especially Longicorns, Buprestids, Scolytidae, etc., may be 

 reared by cutting out with the saw and hatchet pieces of 

 the infested tree, with the bark on, about six inches square 

 and one inch thick. The castings and sawdust, together 

 with the larvae, should be placed under the bark. Several 

 pieces of bark tied together with the bast-sides opposite 

 will sometimes answer the purpose, but the better way is 

 to leave the larvae in the wood until they are nearly full- 

 grown; then, in genaral, the transformations are completed 

 in about two weeks. 



Rearing Larvae of Dung-beetles. These may be taken 

 home with a part of the earth above which they live and 

 part of the nearly dried and inodorous cow-droppings under 

 which they hide. " But here the greatest care has to be 

 taken not to overlook the very numerous small Staphylinidas 

 and carabidous larvae that live with or rather on those 

 scarabaeidous larvae." * 



* F. G. Schaupp in Bulletin Brooklyn Ent. Soc., iv. 17-19. 



