Figure 3.
(a) Percentage of axenic first instars that developed into fourth instars when fed: axenic A. aegypti larvae, gnotobiotic A. aegypti larvae colonized by individual bacterial isolates or conventional A. aegypti larvae reared under non-sterile conditions (positive control). The percentage of conventionally reared first instars that developed into fourth instars in the absence of prey is also shown. The number above each bar represents the number of larvae assayed for a given treatment group. Asterisks (*) indicate a significant difference for a given treatment relative to the positive control as determined by pairwise Fisher's exact tests (p < 0.0001). (b) Development time of axenic T. amboinensis larvae to the fourth instar when fed gnotobiotic A. aegypti larvae colonized by different bacteria. Toxorhynchites amboinensis larvae fed conventional A. aegypti served as the positive control. Columns present mean values (±s.e.) for each treatment. ANOVA detected no differences between treatments (F2,219 = 1.121, p = 0.328). The number above each bar represents the number of larvae that moulted to the fourth instar and for which development time was recorded.