(Ramírez-Rovelo et al. 1990, Malo et al. 1993, Barbosa-Gómez & García da Silva 2001, Martínez-Ibarra et al. 2003b or remain unknown, as in M. phyllosomus and in M. bassolsae. In consequence, taking into account the associations of those three last species in natural and artificial environments and previous information on its host preferences, the objective of this study was to determine the influence of the blood meal source on the life-cycle, reproductive development and feeding and defecation behavior of M. phyllosomus, M. mazzottii, and M. bassolsae under laboratory conditions.
MATERIALS AND METHODSLaboratory colonies of M. phyllosomus and M. mazzottii established in 2004 from specimens captured in Oaxaca, Mexico were used, whereas a colony of M. bassolsae, established in 2004, with specimens originally obtained from Acatlan, Puebla, Mexico, was also used. Colonies were maintained at 27 ± 1ºC and 75 ± 5% relative humidity (rh) and fed weekly on immobilized Leghorn hens or New Zealand rabbits.