HAEMATOPHAGY IN INSECTS: A COMPARATIVE REVIEW

J.J. Berry Smith
Dept. of Zoology, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON, Canada M5S 3G5.

Haematophagy has evolved several times independently among insect orders,but presents a common set of problems. These include finding an often distantand mobile host, locating an appropriate site to land and begin probing,penetrating the skin, obtaining and recognising an adequate supply of blood,ingesting enough blood in an often limited time, surviving the post-mealperiod and dealing physiologically with the blood meal. The sets of stimuliand their relations with the behaviour at each stage are complex, and maychange with environmental and physiological conditions. What is known andnot known about the process involved in haematophagy will be reviewed froma comparative perspective, with special emphasis on contact chemoreception,phagostimulants and experimental and theoretical approaches to its study.