1985] 
Ashe — Meronera venus tula 
183 
Litter in the forest surrounding the slough where specimens of M. 
venustula were collected did not yield any specimens of this species 
after similar collecting techniques. 
Adults were returned to the laboratory and placed in petri dishes 
with a uniform layer of about 0.5 cm of plaster of paris in the 
bottom. Plaster of paris was moistened whenever it became dry by 
adding drops of water directly to the surface. Small pieces of Purina 
Puppy Chow® were moistened and provided as food for the beetles 
and were readily accepted. A few short strips of paper toweling were 
placed in the dish to provide concealment for adults and as substrate 
for oviposition. Fungus began to grow on the food within 24 hours. 
Fungus covered food was replaced daily with fresh food except 
when fungus feeding occurred. In this latter instance food was 
changed every 3 days. 
Cultures of adults were examined daily for the presence of eggs 
and to monitor general health of the colony. Eggs were transferred 
to similar petri dishes, and larvae were fed and maintained in a 
similar way to adults. Selected eggs and resulting larvae were peri- 
odically monitored to determine developmental rates. 
All cultures were maintained at room temperature. This tempera- 
ture generally varied between 22° and 25° C, but fluctuated widely, 
occasionally reaching 29° C in the latter stages of the study. These 
occasional high temperatures may be responsible for the relatively 
slight success in rearing larvae to maturity, especially in latter stages 
of the project. However, the possibility that a buildup of pathogens 
in the cultures could cause similar mortality cannot be eliminated. 
Mature larvae were transferred to vials of finely ground peat moss 
for pupation. 
Selected adults and larvae of each instar were preserved, cleared 
in Nesbitt’s solution and mounted on microscope slides in Hoyer’s 
medium for study. Detailed studies of slide mounted specimens were 
carried out with a Wild M-20 compound microscope. Drawings 
were facilitated by use of a drawing tube attachment. 
Behavior 
Feeding was regularly observed, and both adults and larvae read- 
ily accepted Purina Puppy Chow® as food and appeared to survive 
well on it. An unexpected observation was that at least adults and 
