6 



BULLETIN 251, U. S. DEPARTMENT OP AGRICULTURE. 



equipment has been selected as a result of many experiments and has 

 been found to work very satisfactorily. 



METHODS OF REARING CALOSOMA BEETLE. 



The most satisfactory manner of rearing these insects, in case it 

 is desired to secure definite records of the number of eggs laid by a 

 single individual or the amount of food consumed, is to place a pair 



Fig. 3. — Wire hibernation cage that has been removed from the earth. Arrow shows the 

 cavity where a Calosoma beetle hibernated ; enlargement shows this beetle in the cage. 

 (From Burgess.) 



of beetles in one of the larger glass jars with a supply of caterpillars 

 for food. The jars should be cleaned daily and all wounded or dead 

 caterpillars removed. If this is not done, considerable difficulty is 

 likely to be experienced. The earth should be examined daily, and if 

 eggs are found the beetles should be transferred to a fresh jar and 

 the original one kept, so that a record can be made of the larva? that 

 hatch. The number of larvse that hatch is taken as an index of the 

 number of eggs deposited, since it is impracticable to remove the 

 eggs from the earth to make an accurate count, as they are easily 



