Colonies of D. peruvianus were maintained in transparent plastic flasks covered with a screen. Insects were provided with cotton seeds (Gossypium hirsutum) as a food source and sterile water (Stanisc¸uaski, Ferreira-da Silva, Mulinari, Pires-Alves and Carlini 2005). Colonies of adult and fourth instar insect were maintained in a humid chamber ([90% rh), at 28C and photoperiod (16L: 8D).