Coleção de Vetores de Tripanosomatídeos (Fiocruz/COLVET) held at the institution Fiocruz Minas in Brazil: diversity of Triatominae (Hemiptera, Reduviidae) and relevance for research, education, and entomological surveillance

Abstract

The Coleção de Vetores de Tripanosomatídeos (Fiocruz/COLVET), Minas Gerais, Brazil, stands out as one of the most important collections of blood-sucking triatomines, the vectors of Trypanosoma cruzi that causes Chagas disease. The aim is to describe the collection and the services it provides to support scientific research, educational activities, and entomological surveillance between 2013–2019.The data associated with the specimens held in Fiocruz/COLVET is available from the Sistema de Informação sobre a Biodiversidade Brasileira (SiBBr). These specimen metadata were analyzed and either tabulated or plotted on graph and maps. The records of services provided by the collection between 2013–2019 were also categorized and analyzed. There are 12,568 triatomine specimens deposited in the collection that belong to 77 species and 11 genera, from 15 American countries. Of the ~ 65 species of triatomines found in Brazil, 38 (57.6%) are present in the collection, including specimens from all biomes and all but three Brazilian states. The occurrence of Triatoma costalimai, Triatoma lenti, Rhodnius nasutus, and Panstrongylus lenti apparently collected beyond their known distribution ranges are reported and discussed. The collection provided 168 services, supporting educational activities (41.7%), scientific research (35.7%), and regional/national entomological surveillance of triatomines (22.6%). Between the years 2014 and 2020, the number of biological specimens deposited in the Fiocruz/COLVET repository increased from 4,778 to 12,568 triatomine specimens. In addition to its great value to biodiversity conservation, the collection is of great importance because of its support of research and educational activities, and contributions to entomological surveillance, and, therefore, to public health.

Triatoma costalimai, a neglected vector of Trypanosoma cruzi in the Cerrado savannas of South America: A comprehensive review

“…(2014) extended T. costalimai occurrence records to the Cerrado of northern Minas Gerais on the eastern slope of the Serra Geral de Goiás, which separates the Tocantins and São Francisco Basins ( Fig. 1 ; see also Vendrami, 2017 ; Brito et al., 2021 ; Vendrami et al., 2021 ). As discussed above, a bug identified as “ T. costalimai ” was seemingly collected in Bolivia (either in the Chiquitania or in the Department of Cochabamba), hundreds of kilometers west of the Araguaia and well beyond the limits of the Cerrado, but there are substantial doubts as to the taxonomic status of the specimen (see above and Justi et al., 2014a , b , 2016 ; Vendrami, 2017 ; Vendrami et al., 2021 ).…”

“…Triatoma costalimai also exploit human-made microhabitats. House invasion by adult bugs is common in Tocantins and has also been recorded, with varying frequencies, in Goiás, Minas Gerais and Bahia ( Sherlock & Serafim, 1972 ; García-Zapata et al., 1985 ; García-Zapata & Marsden, 1992 ; Elias et al., 1994 ; Marsden et al., 1994 ; Lorosa et al., 1999a , b ; Silveira et al., 2001 ; de Oliveira, 2006 ; de Oliveira & Silva, 2007 ; Souza et al., 2014 ; Brito et al., 2017a , b , 2021 ; Minuzzi-Souza et al., 2017 ; Vendrami, 2017 ) ( Fig. 1 , Fig.…”

“…Since the description of the species, confirmed records of T. costalimai occurrence consistently cluster in the upper Tocantins River Basin and associated ranges/plateaus, always to the east of the Araguaia River main channel ( Fig. 1 ) ( Sherlock & Serafim, 1972 ; Mello & Borges, 1981 ; Mello, 1982 ; García-Zapata et al., 1985 ; García-Zapata & Marsden, 1992 ; Elias et al., 1994 ; Marsden et al., 1994 ; Carcavallo et al., 1999 ; Lorosa et al., 1999a , b ; Silveira et al., 2001 ; de Oliveira, 2006 ; de Oliveira & Silva, 2007 ; Gurgel-Gonçalves et al., 2012a , b ; Machiner, 2012 ; Machiner et al., 2012 ; Pereira, 2012 ; Teves, 2012 , 2018 ; Leite, 2013 ; Pereira et al., 2013 ; Ribeiro et al., 2021 ; Souza et al., 2014 ; Minuzzi, 2016 ; Brito et al., 2017a , 2021 ; Ceccarelli, 2018 ; Ceccarelli et al., 2018a , b ; Minuzzi-Souza et al., 2017 ; Teves et al., 2019 ). As far as we are aware, the only record to the west of the Araguaia is an unconfirmed record from “Dom Aquino”, state of Mato Grosso ( Fig.…”

“…Triatoma costalimai is, therefore, a species with a relatively restricted distribution in the core Cerrado biome ( Fig. 1 ) ( Sherlock & Serafim, 1972 ; Mello & Borges, 1981 ; Mello, 1982 ; García-Zapata et al., 1985 ; García-Zapata & Marsden, 1992 ; Elias et al., 1994 ; Marsden et al., 1994 ; Carcavallo et al., 1999 ; Lorosa et al., 1999a , b ; Silveira et al., 2001 ; de Oliveira 2006 ; de Oliveira & Silva, 2007 ; Gurgel-Gonçalves et al., 2012a , b ; Machiner, 2012 ; Machiner et al., 2012 ; Pereira, 2012 ; Teves, 2012 , 2018 ; Leite, 2013 ; Pereira et al., 2013 ; Ribeiro et al., 2021 ; Souza et al., 2014 ; Minuzzi, 2016 ; Brito et al., 2017a , 2021 ; Ceccarelli, 2018 ; Ceccarelli et al., 2018a , b ; Minuzzi-Souza et al., 2017 ; Teves et al., 2019 ).…”

“…It is important to emphasize that the absence of T. costalimai records from other sites in the states of Tocantins, Goiás, Bahia, and Minas Gerais (as well as from neighboring Mato Grosso and the Federal District; see Fig. 1 ) is not due to the absence of surveys: there are thousands of records, derived from routine entomological surveillance and research projects, of many other triatomine-bug species in these administrative regions (see, e.g., Sherlock & Serafim, 1972 ; Lustosa et al., 1984 ; Silveira et al., 1984 ; Silva et al., 1991 , 1995 ; Diotaiuti et al., 1995 ; de Oliveira, 2006 ; de Oliveira & Silva, 2007 ; Gurgel-Gonçalves et al., 2012a , b , c ; Maeda et al., 2012 ; Pereira, 2012 ; Leite, 2013 ; Pereira et al., 2013 ; Souza et al., 2014 ; Vinhaes et al., 2014 ; Galvão & Gurgel-Gonçalves, 2015 ; Minuzzi, 2016 ; Brito et al., 2017b , 2021 ; Browne et al., 2017 ; Ceccarelli, 2018 ; Ceccarelli et al., 2018a , b ; Minuzzi-Souza et al., 2017 ; Ribeiro et al., 2019 , 2021 ). Also important is the absence of T. costalimai records from areas where “Cerrado rupestre” and/or “mata seca decídua calcária” are present, including parts of Goiás, Mato Grosso, Minas Gerais, or Bahia (see Fig.…”