12/7/2023 0 Comments Download battle bugs series![]() ![]() For example, the sheer size difference between the vertebrate and the blood-feeder makes the defensive actions of the host potentially lethal for the arthropod, and so must be avoided. Blood is notoriously devoid of many essential micronutrients, but it is a good source of the proteins and lipids that are essential for development and the generation of eggs in arthropods ( Lehane, 2005 Coast, 2009 Sterkel et al., 2017).Īcquiring a blood meal is laden with considerable risks before, during and after feeding ( Figure 1). This blood-feeding lifestyle appears to have evolved independently at least six times since the Jurassic and Cretaceous periods, and perhaps up to 20 times ( Benoit et al., 2014 Lehane, 2005 Sterkel et al., 2017). Over 14,000 species of insects, arachnids and other arthropods feed on the blood of vertebrates. ![]()
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