I have been following this thread with great interest since I'm a member of a community garden in Geoergia that is overrun with Mexican bean beetles. Inspired by your experience, we bought some Pediobius foveolaus which arrived July 3 as mummies, put into the garden July 4 (it was over 100 degrees for several days then, hope that didn'dt hurt). We've seen just a few new mummies since then, and have instructed fellow gardeners not to squish larvae since they could have wasp eggs inside. When anyone pulls up a devastated bean plant we pick off the MBB larvae and I'm currently saving them in jars in my house (only 3 are currently mummies,the rest we're watching for browning. Several have already molted into adults). So here's my questions: should I just return these mummies to the garden? Or are they delicate and should be held somewhere besides the wilds of a garden until they hatch out? When should we expect a hatch, 17 days or so from July 4? We're only hoping for a knockdown of a big MBB population, hope to start over next spring at the proper time. Any advice would be welcome!

You definitely roast the seeds before grinding them. After they are picked from the fruit, they need to be fermented for 2-10 days and then once dry can be roasted over fire or in the oven. After they have been roasted you can put them in a food processor and let it go until the consistency is like peanut butter. This is also the point where you can add cane sugar (that has been processed to a powder consistency) or powered milk if you want to "cut" the chocolate with anything. After that you just pour into a mold and freeze for an hour or so and you will have some of the best chocolate ever! :)

Lorenzo...85 farenheit is degrees...usually expressed as "85 degrees farenheit". Cacao has been the easiest tropical fruit seed, besides cherimoya, to germinate. If you have access to fresh, meaning ripe, pods, then that is best and you will also be able to eat the wonderfully sweet flesh surrounding the seeds. Many times the seeds have already started to sprout while in the pod itself. Eating the flesh from the seed is about as clean as I ever got one. Get some very acidic soil mix that drains well and then barely cover the seeds. I put 20-30 seeds in one flat container together. Heck of a lot faster and easier than doing one at a time. Keep them moist, warm, and in a semi-dark location and they will germinate within a week. Let them grow out to around 8+ inches or so and true leaves have started to grow, then you can transplant the individual plants into their own container...using the same acidic mix. Keep them out of direct sun. Try and give them as much humidity as you can. Keep them well watered. I've always been fortunate to have very fresh pods to extract the seeds and contributes heavily to pretty much 100% germination. Good luck.

I am soooo envious! You are living my dream! Here is a resource for making your own chocolate from home from the beans: http://www.chocolatealchemy.com/ In the Alchemist's Notebook section, he takes you through all the processes. He has an online store where you can order the equipment and supplies. I have ordered roasted beans from him and ground the beans myself with a masticating juicer but next I need to get a stone melanger to further refine it. I was hoping to get a chocolate I liked without the melanger but the chocolate was just too gritty. Even without actually making your own chocolate, I hear the blossoms are eaten as a popcorn-like snack and the creamy pulp of the pod is a dessert in and of itself. Can't wait for your updates! Here is a link that might be useful: ChocoateAlchemy.com