EQUIPMENT FOR REARING BEETLES. 



17 



and larvae when nearly full grown can be fed in them if desired. The 

 cages should not be disturbed until the following spring, and at that 

 time the beetles which developed will come to the surface of the 

 ground in the cage and can be easily removed. 



It is always necessary to provide hibernating quarters for beetles 

 late in the summer, as they pass the winter in the adult state. Boxes 

 of any desirable shape can be used for this purpose. They should 

 be 18 to 24 inches deep, and the bottom should be replaced with gal- 

 vanized iron wire netting, J-inch mesh. (See fig. 8.) They should 

 be set in the ground and filled with earth within 4 to 6 inches of the 

 top. A hinged cover on which the same kind of wire netting is used 

 is a necessity, and the box should be supplied with a lock, so that its 

 contents can not be disturbed by persons of an inquiring turn of mind. 



Fig. 8.— Box cages for hibernation of Calosoma beetles. (Original.) 



We have also found it desirable to use, for hibernation cages, gal- 

 vanized iron wire cylinders having a |-inch mesh, which are con- 

 structed in the same manner as those used for feeding large larvae. 

 (See figs. 9 and 10.) They are of special value for confining speci- 

 mens during the winter which have been used for rearing or other 

 special records. Cages similar to the last two types described were 

 used late in the summer of 1909 for feeding large numbers of the 

 larvae of sycophanta, but netting with a fine mesh had to be substi- 

 tuted to prevent the escape of the small larvae. 



It should be stated that the use of these cages had been adopted 

 after several years of experimental work. Many tests of different 

 100834°— Bui. 101—11 2 



