Fig. 3

The effect of exposure to plant nutrient sources on physiological parameters of Rhodnius prolixus. a Survival curves for 1st instar colony-reared R. prolixus exposed to tomato fruit, hanging tomato (inaccesible to bugs) or no food source (Control). Survival was recorded until death of all individuals. Survival curves represent data from 5 different biological replicates each with 20 individuals (total n = 300). Average life span values (±SEM) in controls, hanging tomato and tomato groups were 31.2 ± 0.9, 36 ± 1 and 34 ± 1 days, respectively. Average life spans in each replica ranged from 28.3 to 34.5 days (control), 30.9 to 43.15 days (hanging tomato) and 31.4 to 35.9 days (tomato). b Insect weight after 30 days (total n = 140). c Weight 2 h Post Blood Feeding (PBF) (total n = 130). d Mortality 24 h PBF (total n = 130). e Urine produced 24 h PBF (total n = 110). CTR – Controls with no food source. TOM – tomato. H. TOM – hanging tomato. Asterisk denotes groups which are significantly different from the other conditions tested (p < 0.05). Error bars in (b), (c) and (e) are SEM