Canada L9G 3N6), andAbstract. The dorsal vessel of the blood feeding insect, Rhodnius prolixus, was found to increase or decrease its rate of contraction in response to a number of different stimuli. Handling increased contraction rates whereas tactile stimulation of the ventral abdominal cuticle inhibited contraction. Injection of very low concentrations of serotonin or of high concentrations of octopamine enhanced the inhibitory effect, apparently by acting via the nervous system. Higher concentrations of serotonin increased heart rate by acting directly on the myocardium. The inhibitory response is suggested to be one facet of a generalised thigmotactic response.Abstract. The gracilis muscle was excised from cold-acclimated rats, placed in vitro, and simultaneously perfused via its artery by high pO 2 medium and superfused by low pO 2 medium. With a doubling of the perfusion rate (from 50 to 100 ~tl/min) phosphocreatine and ATP increased by 39 % and 44 %, respectively.

The dorsal vessel (DV) in the abdomen of the blood-feeding insect Rhodnius prolixus was divided functionally into two regions, the heart, into which haemolymph entered the DV through four pairs of ostia located in abdominal segment VII, and the aorta, along which the haemolymph was propelled from abdominal segment VI to the thorax. Osmium-fixed whole mounts revealed the DV to consist of spirally arranged striated muscle fibers and to possess two rows of ventrally attached longitudinal fibers extending the length of the abdomen. Seven pairs of alary muscles were found attached to the DV in the posterior abdominal segments. Contractions of the alary muscles attached to the ventral surface of abdominal segments VII and VIII served to expand the heart. Electron microscopy revealed the DV to consist of a thin layer of contractile elements surrounded by an inner (intima) and outer (adventitia) connective tissue layer. Embedded in the intima along each lateral side of the DV were two large groups of endocardial cells extending the length of the DV. A small group of pericardial cells was embedded in the adventitia along the mid-ventral side of the DV, and clusters of pericardial cells were found attached to the alary muscles. Nerve terminals were found only on the heart: they contained agranular synaptic vesicles approximately 30 nm in diameter and densely stained granules approximately 100-120 nm in diameter. These structural components are discussed in relation to the role of the DV in circulation.

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Rhodtestolin is a cardio-inhibitor that was first discovered in testes extracts of the blood-feeding insect, Rhodnius prolixus. Its role in reproduction remains unconfirmed, but if delivered to the female during spermatophore formation, it may serve to calm the female and/or relax the vaginal muscles to facilitate delivery and storage of the spermatophore. We describe here the anatomy of reproductive organs in R. prolixus and show that rhodtestolin is present in a low-molecular weight fraction of testes extracts separated by gel filtration, as well as in spermatophores delivered to the female during spermatophore formation. We also report that a rhodtestolin-like factor is present in the testes of R. brethesi, Triatoma dimidiata, T. klugi and Nesotriatoma bruneri, other Reduviidae, which are vectors of Chagas disease. Male secretions in insects are known to modify female behavior after copulation, and the presence of rhodtestolin in several genera of Reduviidae suggests that it plays an important role in reproductive success. Determining this role could lead to developing additional population control strategies for these bugs.

Abstract. The fecundity of the blood-feeding insect, Rhodnius prolixus, was observed to increase in successive periods of egg production, each period being triggered by a single large blood meal. As previously published, the fecundity of mated animals was significantly higher than that of unmated animals for the first period of egg production. For a second period of egg production, fecundity increased significantly in both mated and unmated animals. By the fourth period, fecundity had returned to first-feed values for mated animals, but remained high for unmated animals, and the fecundity of mated and unmated animals was not significantly different. Thus, during successive periods of egg production, the processes which maintain fecundity of unmated animals below that of mated animals are overcome.

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The blood-feeding insect, Rhodnius prolixus, has been raised in the laboratory for close to 100 years. Various feeding techniques have been employed ranging from the use of warm-blooded hosts, to the use of previously collected blood offered through artificial membranes. This study compared the fecundity in mated and unmated females fed rabbit blood directly from the shaved belly of a rabbit to that of females fed defibrinated rabbit blood through an artificial membrane. These results confirm previous reports that this insect's feeding efficacy is reduced using an artificial membrane. It also demonstrates for the first time that the fecundity index, which measures the efficiency of turning the blood meal into eggs, is significantly reduced. We suggest that the natural feeding on a warm-blooded host may provide cues that have the short-term effect of enhancing the act of feeding and the long-term effect of increasing egg production efficiency. Until an artificial feeding method that does not interfere with feeding and fecundity is devised, experiments on reproduction in R. prolixus warrant the use of a warm-blooded host to emulate feeding in its natural setting.

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