88 STRAWBERRY. 
throughout; and on the 19th and 20th of July, that is, the fifteenth 
and sixteenth days of their captivity, I found that they were pairing. 
After the 21st of July, as, excepting that sometimes the beetles ate less 
and sometimes more, there appeared to be nothing of further interest 
to observe, I noted them less carefully. 
The result of the seventeen days’ careful observation showed that 
the H. rujficornis fed willingly and healthfully on the Strawberry fruit, 
and on this food and nothing else they continued for the time recorded 
above in their natural state of brisk activity, and also, as observed 
above, carrying on their natural functions. 
After the above date, as it was not so necessary to be certain that 
there was no other presence in the glass-jar, I gave the beetles a little 
fresh earth taken from the surface of a garden flower-border, so as to 
allow them about three-quarters of an inch depth to bury themselves in. 
This they did willingly, and also partially covered their Strawberries 
with earth ; and on the 27th I found their supplies of berries were so 
covered with fine earth, that it was impossible to say, from the general 
wet, ‘‘messed”’ condition, what had been done at any one spot to the 
fruit; and this attempt at burying suggested that the perishing fruit, 
which I let remain, and which soon became a mass of mould or 
fungus-threads, was purposed to be a receptacle for their eggs. 
The above notes refer solely to H. rujficornis at Strawberry fruit ; 
but on the 26th of July I received about two dozen more of the Straw- 
berry beetles from Mr. Dunstan, of which, on examination, seventeen 
proved to be further specimens of H. rujicornis, and six of P. vulgaris. 
These gave me the opportunity of seeing that it was no peculiarity of 
the special beetles under examination (no idiosyncrasy, so to say) to 
eat nothing but Strawberry fruit, but that this, and meat (cooked or 
raw), fish, bread, live worms, or the parts not too hard for their 
mandibles to deal with of an insect, were all (apparently equally) 
acceptable as articles of food. And also that though Strawberries 
were eaten greedily, they would not, as far as I could see, even taste 
any of the other kinds of fruit which I placed in their jar. 
On arrival, presumably, the beetles were hungry, and I dropped a 
good-sized rather over-ripe Strawberry among them. ‘This the greater 
part of the beetles fairly attacked at once, those that could not shelter 
below crowding on the top, and in a very short time they had eaten 
away much of the outer surface, and deep down into the fruit. Taking 
the remains away, I dropped two little worms and one fair-sized earth- 
worm, about four or five inches long, into their glass jar, and these 
were at once attacked. One of the Pterostichi seized one of the small 
worms and, setting its legs firmly, fairly dragged it along; but to the 
larger worm most of the rest of the beetles made a simultaneous 
attack, The work was begun in many cases almost as if by an 
