[Feeding and defecation of Rhodnius (hemiptera: Reduviidae) fed human blood]
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E Aldana1, E Lizano, M Rodríguez
1Laboratorio de Entomología Herman Lent Dpto. Biología Fac. Ciencias, La Hechicera, Mérida, Venezuela. aldana@ciens.ula.ve
Abstract:
Feeding and defecation behavior of Rhodnius prolixus Stal, 1859, R. robustus Larrousse, 1927, R. neivai Lent, 1953 and R. pictipes Stal, 1872, artificially fed on human blood, were studied under laboratory conditions. In all species, first instar nymphs did not defecate in the first 30 minutes after feeding. R. pictipes did not accept artificial feeding but fed directly on humans. Nymph and adult R. prolixus had a higher defecation index (DI) than other species; third instar nymphs had the highest DI = 1.62. In all instars, most individuals accepted the food in 3 Pounds minutes and finished feeding in less than 15 minutes.
