Colonisation of Glossina morsitans morsitans Westw. (Diptera, Glossinidae) in the laboratory using in vitro feeding techniques.

Fresh defibrinated bovine blood was superior to either haemolysed or freeze-dried defibrinated bovine blood when fed in vitro to female Glossina morsitans morsitans Westw. The presence of adenosine-5′-triphosphate (ATP) or other additives did not improve reproductive performance. The flies were able to compensate for considerable dilution of the blood with both serum and saline. Both parental and F 1 female size affected the weight of the F 2 puparia produced. The feeding of females on rabbits' ears on one day and in vitro on five days per week prevented any deterioration in performance over successive generations compared with a purely in vitro regime. A colony was established using this technique and results over a 13-month period were compared with those from a colony fed without rabbit supplement and another fed on rabbits only. The reproductive performance of females in the all-membrane-fed colony deteriorated from generation to generation, while those in the rabbit supplement colony performed similarly to those of the rabbit-fed colony except that survival was better but fecundity was poorer and the puparia produced were smaller.