Fig. 1

Sequence of construction of in vitro feeding device for poultry red mites. The closed end of a 5-ml cryotube (a) is cut off, the tube is inverted and a piece of filter paper inserted (b). Mites are added to the tube, and a square of mesh, either Baudruche membrane or Parafilm™ M, is placed over the cut-off end and held in place by a strip of Parafilm™ M stretched around the outside of the tube (c). A cut-down pastette bulb is then placed over the membrane, and a watertight seal is obtained by using a castration ring (d). Blood is placed inside the pastette bulb, and the device is placed in an incubator in the dark to allow mite feeding to commence