EFFECTS OF ERYTHROCYTE COMPONENT DIETS ON ECDYSTEROID PRODUCTION AND ECDYSIS OF RHODNIUS-PROLIXUS LARVAE

Blood meal components in addition to the abdominal distension observed after feeding, are important in producing ecdysteroids and establishing the ecdysis processes in fourth-instar larvae of Rhodnius prolixus. This hypothesis is supported by the following results: (i) numbers undergoing ecdysis were proportional to the percentage haemoglobin added to the plasma upon which they feed; (ii) plasma alone induced only about 20% ecdysis; (iii) the haemoglobin content rather than the red cell membrane component stimulates ecdysis; (iv) ecdysteroid production was dependent upon the presence of haemoglobin or of erythrocytes but not plasma or erythrocyte membranes in the meal. The significance of these data is discussed in relation to the effects of haemoglobin or other erythrocyte components on ecdysis processes in R. prolixus larvae.