Misidentification of two Brazilian triatomes, Triatoma arthurneivai and Triatoma wygodzinskyi, revealed by geometric morphometrics.

Triatoma arthurneivai Lent & Martins and Triatoma wygodzinskyi Lent (Hemiptera: Reduviidae) are two Brazilian species found in the sylvatic environment. Several authors may have misidentified T. arthurneivai and consequently published erroneous information. This work reports the use of geometric morphometric analysis on wings in order to differentiate T. arthurneivai and T. wygodzinskyi, and thus to detect possible misidentifications. Triatomines collected from the field in the states of Minas Gerais and São Paulo, and from laboratory colonies, were used. Analyses show a clear differentiation between specimens of T. arthurneivai and T. wygodzinskyi. This indicates that T. arthurneivai populations from São Paulo state were misidentified and should be considered as T. wygodzinskyi. This study also suggests that T. arthurneivai is an endemic species from Serra do Cipó, Minas Gerais state.

Estudo biológico e biométrico dos estádios ninfais de Rhodnius prolixus Stãl, 1859 (Hemiptera, Reduviidae) sob condições laboratoriais / Biological and biometric studies of the nymph instars of R. prolixus (Hemiptera, Reduviidae)

A partir de ninfas de 5o estádio obtiveram-se casais de Rhodnius prolixus, que originaram ovos e ninfas para estudos de ciclo biológico e biométrico. Foram determinados os seguintes parâmetros do ciclo biológico à temperatura de 28OC e umidade relativa do ar variando entre 52 e 94%: período médio de incubação dos ovos: 13,01 dias; taxa de eclosão dos ovos: 77,6%; período médio de desenvolvimento do 1º, 2º, 3º, 4º e 5º estádio ninfal: 19, 33;19,09; 20,38; 24,37; 38,14 dias, respectivamente;percentual de mortes nos estádios ninfais: 26,70; 14,00;18,26; 17,02; 35,47% respectivamente; percentual de mudas por estádio ninfal; 73,30; 86,03; 81,73; 82,97 e 64,52%, respectivamente. Estudo biométrico mostrou que o abdômen é o maior segmento em todos os estádios. Nos quatro primeiros estádios a cabeça apresenta-se maior que o tórax, enquanto no quinto estádio a cabeça e o tórax apresentam portes equivalentes.

Atlas of Chagas disease vectors in the Americas

Authors have studied most of the known species of Triatominae with Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM) JEOL and HITACHI S-500. They were able to photograph structures in these bugs belonging to the 5 known tribes. 12 of the 14 genera existing on the American Continent and Caribbean Islands, and 98 of the 111 recognized species of the subfamily. It was not possible to study either Bolbodera or Parabelminus with SEM

Atlas of Chagas disease vectors in the Americas

Habitats of Triatominae bugs are important from an epidemiological point of view. Each species is related to certain environmental conditions, and its significance as a vector for Trypanosoma cruzi is often linked to its proximity to human dwellings or the infestation of houses, corrals, pigeon or chicken coops, woodpiles, and/or other peridomiciliary sites. The authors of this chapter have agreed to provide a general list of references, mostly devoted either to those publications compiling the scattered bibliography or to some specific papers where a single species was studied, giving compiled bibliography added to the original research. Despite this bibliographical condensation, the list is long enough to provide a general idea about some basic references to each species