Eggs laid on the surface of a mung bean, Phaseolus aureus and a female bean beetle on mung bean (squares are mm) (photographs by L. Blumer)

This site is dedicated to providing information to faculty and staff on using bean beetles (seed beetles), Callosobruchus maculatus (Coleoptera: Bruchidae), in undergraduate laboratory courses.

This site contains a downloadable laboratory methods handbook, a searchable bibliography, links to researchers who study C. maculatus, classroom-tested undergraduate laboratory activities, and information on inquiry-based undergraduate laboratories.

Our Bibliography of Callosobruchus Research in Ecology and Evolution is now revised weekly and you may subscribe to an RSS feed. This searchable database now contains more than 320 references. Our Handbook on Bean Beetles (Laboratory Methods) was updated in July 2009 with information on measuring adults with an inexpensive video microscopy system. An eighth tested laboratory experiment (Laboratory Activities), Substrate Size Selection by Bean Beetles, was added in January 2010.

We will be presenting a hands-on 3-hour workshop on Substrate Size Selection by Bean Beetles, at ABLE 2010, 22-26 June 2010, at Dalhousie University, Nova Scotia, Canada

Live cultures of bean beetles are now available from Carolina Biological Supply.

Read about the experiences of faculty using bean beetles in undergraduate laboratories.

Interested in the Bean Beetle Curriculum Development Network 2011 Workshop? Sign-up for e-mail notification when applications for the 2011 Workshop begin.

Last Updated: 21 January 2010

Copyright © by Lawrence S. Blumer and Christopher W. Beck, 2010. All rights reserved. The content of this site may be freely used for non-profit educational purposes, with proper acknowledgement of the source. All other uses are prohibited without prior written permission from the copyright holders.

Disclaimer: Any opinions, findings, and conclusions or recommendations expressed in this material are those of the authors and do not necessary reflect the views of the National Science Foundation, Emory University, or Morehouse College.