Intravital micrographs showing different blood meal types.

A: The proboscis is inserted into the blood vessel and follows its lumen; B, C, D and E: the proboscis is inserted perpendicular to the blood vessel. The images were recorded at several time points after the start of blood feeding. The strength of suction decreases over time, as demonstrated by the gradual increase in blood vessel diameter until withdrawal of the proboscis; F and G: illustration of two types of pool feeding. In F, the proboscis is located in the pool of blood, whereas in G, the proboscis is sucking up blood from a blood pool some distance away. The proboscis is showed by an arrow.