OBSERVATIONS OF GROUND BEETLES. 87 
patches, and sometimes the injury had gone deeper, and a hollow 
about a quarter or even half an inch long had been gnawed into the 
substance of the berry. The absence of the seeds drew attention to 
where merely superficial mischief had been going on, and in some 
instances the seeds had been hollowed out, and only part of the husk 
remained. 
For seventeen days, that is, from the 4th to the 21st of July, I 
continued my observations daily of the attacks of the ruficornis on the 
Strawberry fruit. This fruit I usually renewed every evening, taking 
care to examine each individual berry before placing it in the jar, so 
as to be quite certain that there was no insect infestation present, nor 
any injuries that could be confused with those caused by the beetles. 
Thus I was absolutely certain, so that the extent of the damage could 
be given by measurement, and figured of the serious amount of damage 
to the fruit; and also, as I kept the glass-jar containing the beetles, 
the Strawberries, and about a tablespoonful of carefully examined 
earth, well tied down over the top, that there was nothing present but 
the rwjicornis Ground Beetles to do the damage. 
The result of my daily observations, usually taken in the morning 
and carefully noted in detail, was that the injury was of various kinds 
to the outer part of the fruit; sometimes little pits, about the eighth 
of an inch across, were hollowed out, or these pits might be more or 
less confluent with the surface of the berry damaged between them, so 
as to form a patch half an inch long. In another berry a quarter of 
the surface would be gnawed; in another (a fine berry more than an 
inch long) much of the outside of the fruit was ruined by the beetle- 
gnawings, which, besides removing the outer part, gave a slimy 
mashed-up appearance to the fruit from the pulling at it of the strong 
beetle-mandibles. The state of the attacked part was in great contrast 
to the unattacked part of the berry, which remained glossy and bright, 
with the seeds in regular position. 
In a few instances the pits gnawed were as much as a quarter 
of an inch or upwards in length, and from removal of seeds and 
roughening of portions of the surface, even where worse damage 
was not done, the selling value of a crop so treated would have been 
spoilt. 
For about twelve days the beetles ate about the same amount daily 
or rather nightly), and excepting that they appeared to prefer the ripe 
side of a Strawberry in case the other side was not wholly matured, 
they appeared to eat without choice of part of the fruit. One of the 
beetles had died at the beginning of the experiment, presumably 
injured by handling, and another got away, so that the numbers 
experimented on throughout in this special jar were six rujicornis, 
which appeared to keep in perfect health on their Strawberry diet 
