Eggs laid on the surface of a mung bean, Vigna radiata 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, searchable bibliographies, links to researchers who study C. maculatus, classroom-tested undergraduate laboratory activities, and information on inquiry-based undergraduate laboratories.

Our bibliographies are now revised weekly and you may subscribe to an RSS feed.

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

New experiments on physiology and genetics have been added to the Laboratory Activities (developed by 2009 and 2010 participants in the Bean Beetle Curriculum Development Network workshop).

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