COLEOPTERA 97 



LA BORA TOR Y PROGRA M 



A. The Study of Living Specimens. 



Of most beetles it may be said that neither adults nor 

 larvae lend themselves well to observation of habits in- 

 doors ; but here are a few exceptions : 



1. Ladybird beetles and their larvae will demonstrate 

 their usefulness to us if placed in the midst of a colony 

 of living aphids in an observation cage. 



2. Leaf beetles and their larvae (such as the potato bee- 

 tles) will feed normally in captivity if supplied with 

 fresh leaves of their food plants. 



3. Adults and larvae of water beetles make interesting 

 specimens for small aquaria, where their swimming, 

 feeding, and air-taking may be easily observed. If 

 the large larvae known as "water tigers" are kept 

 together they will cheerfully eat one another. 



4. With such active forms as these it will be well to com- 

 pare a series of living larvae from soil, stems and seeds 

 to note the progressive helplessness of the latter as they 

 become adapted to a restricted environment. Note 

 the plight of the grubs when out of the soil and of the 

 woodborers when removed from their tunnels. 



B. The Study of Preserved Specimens. 



This group is so abundant we may have much choice of 

 forms for study. More than 100 families of beetles are now 



