Bean Beetle Colonies (IMAGE) Rice University Caption Colonies of bean beetles inhabited an array of petri dishes with tunnels between them in an experiment at Rice University. The beetles were free to venture forward through many generations, with the goal of demonstrating that rapid evolution of a species can cause biological invasions to spread faster and with more variability. Credit Jeff Fitlow/Rice University Usage Restrictions For news reporting purposes only. License Licensed content Disclaimer: AAAS and EurekAlert! are not responsible for the accuracy of news releases posted to EurekAlert! by contributing institutions or for the use of any information through the EurekAlert system.