Fig. 1

The observed proportion of amplification success by preservation method at each storage time (a–e), and post-feeding time. Blood meal specimens were stored for seven days (a), 30 days (b), 90 days (c) and 180 days (d). For each preservation method, storage time and post feeding time treatment combination, a total of four blood meal specimens were tested. The bottom sub-figure (e) presents the proportion of amplification success for each treatment across storage times (n = 16 for each preservation method and post-feeding time combination). Cell shading corresponds with the observed proportion of amplification success for each treatment, with blue indicating a proportion of 1.0, and white indicating zero