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: Chrysomelidae: Bruchinae), 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.

The Laboratory Methods Handbook has been revised and updated with new sections on genetics and developmental biology. The first complete sequence of a bean beetle genome has prepared and a preliminary assemblies of male and female genomes are available for BLAST search and downloading (go to the Genome link).

New experiments on physiology have been added to the Laboratory Activities (developed by 2009 participants in the Bean Beetle Curriculum Development Network workshop).

Our next Bean Beetle Curriculum Development Network workshop will be July 25-27, 2012 at Emory University, Atlanta. The focus of the 2012 workshop will be genetics, molecular and developmental biology. For more information about the workshop and to apply online visit the Workshop Information page.

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

Interested in the Bean Beetle Curriculum Development Network 2012 Workshop? Sign-up for e-mail notification when applications for the 2012 Workshop begin.