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Rearing triatomine bugs in the absence of a live host and some effects of diet on reproduction in Rhodnius prolixus Stål (Hemiptera: Reduviidae)

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  10 July 2009

P. A. Langley  and
R. W. Pimley
P. A. Langley
Affiliation:
Tsetse Research Laboratory, University of Bristol School of Veterinary Science, Lan gford, Bristol BS18 7DU, UK.
R. W. Pimley
Affiliation:
Tsetse Research Laboratory, University of Bristol School of Veterinary Science, Lan gford, Bristol BS18 7DU, UK.
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Abstract

Rhodnius prolixus Stȧl was successfully reared for three generations on a diet of defibrinated pig blood fed through Parafilm or silicone-rubber membranes. Reproduction in terms of the number and sizes of eggs produced was superior to, while survival from egg to adult was equal to that reported for, insects fed on live hosts. The technique appears equally applicable to the rearing of Panstrongylus megistus (Burm.), Triatoma infestans (Klug) and T. brasiliensis Neiva. The inadequacy of cow blood as a diet for R. prolixus was manifested in a decrease in adult size after two generations and in a reduction of egg weight from 30 to around 16 mg per female per week. This was accompanied by a corresponding reduction in egg hatch from 90 to about 50%.

Type
Original Articles
Information
Bulletin of Entomological Research , Volume 68 , Issue 2 , July 1978 , pp. 243 - 250
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 1978

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