The biology of three Mexican-American species of Triatominae (Hemiptera: Reduviidae): Triatoma recurva, Triatoma protracta and Triatoma rubida

Abstract

Biological information is widely available for the 13 most common domestic triatomines (Hemiptera: Reduviidae: Triatominae) among the 30 species described in Mexico (Martínez-Ibarra et al. 2007, Salazar-Schettino et al. 2010). Information about the remaining species is scarce, primarily because these species have rarely been collected and are difficult to raise under laboratory conditions. Three of these rare species are Triatoma recurva (Stal), Triatoma protracta (Uhler) and Triatoma rubida (Uhler). Although these three species are considered to be of low epidemiological importance, specimens of at least two of these species (T. recurva and T. rubida) collected from inside human dwellings were found to be infected with Trypanosoma cruzi (Paredes-González et al. 2001, Licón-Trillo 2006, Breniere et al. 2010, Licón-Trillo et al. 2010. Studies on the behaviour of triatomine species provide a greater understanding of the habits of these insects and therefore facilitate improved decision-making regarding the priorities for vector control. To our knowledge, there has been no study of the biological parameters (life cycle and feeding and defecation behaviours) of T. recurva; in contrast, two recent studies were devoted to the examination of certain behaviours of T. protracta (Martínez-Ibarra et al. 2007, Klotz et al. 2009) and three studies focused on T. rubida (Martínez-Ibarra et al. 2005, Klotz et al. 2009, Reisenman et al. 2011. Even though the biological parameters of the two latter species have been studied previously, it is necessary to determine the particular behaviours of geographically distinct populations of the same species because it is likely that differing environmental conditions result in different behaviours for distinct populations of the same triatomine species (Licón-Trillo et al. 2010).As part of a series of studies on the biology of Mexican Triatominae, a study of the feeding and defecation behaviours and the life cycles of three Triatominae species of secondary importance in the transmission of T. cruzi to human populations in Mexico was conducted. MATERIALS AND METHODSA laboratory colony of T. recurva established in 2009 from specimens collected in Jesús María, Nayarit, Mexico, was used. A colony of T. protracta (morphologically similar to the synonymised subspecies protracta) was established in 2008 with specimens originally obtained from Caborca, Sonora, Mexico. In addition, a colony of T. rubida (morphologically similar to the synonymised subspecies uhleri) from Saucillo, Chihuahua, was included. The colonies were maintained at 25ºC ± 1ºC and 50% relative humidity (RH) ± 5% RH to match the typical habitat conditions of the three species. The colonies were fed on immobilised and anaesthetised New Zealand rabbits on a weekly basis. These rabbits were anaesthetised following the Norma Official Mexicana regulations with 0.25 mL/kg of ketamine delivered intramuscularly (SAGARPA 1999

Comparative bionomics of four populations of Meccus longipennis (Hemiptera: Reduviidae: Triatominae) under laboratory conditions

“…The abundance of females led us to conclude that the four studied populations have the same potential to increase their abundance under favourable conditions, resulting in an increase in the risk of transmission of T. cruzi to hosts in their distributions areas. Similar results regarding female:male ratios have been recorded for three Mexican-American species (T. recurva, T. protracta and T. rubida) (Martínez-Ibarra et al 2012). The amount of eggs laid per female per day after 90 days was not significantly different among the four studied populations (Table II).…”

“…Trillo et al 2010). The mortality rates were not significantly different (Table I) between the four studied cohorts and were lower than those for T. recurva, a related species (Martínez-Ibarra et al 2012). The mortality rates were also slightly lower than those for M. longipennis in a previous study (Martínez-Ibarra et al 2003b).…”

Biological parameters of Meccus phyllosomus phyllosomus (Burmeister), 1835, Triatoma recurva (Stål), 1868 (Hemiptera, Reduviidae) and their laboratory hybrids

“…Se seleccionaron conejos como fuente de alimentación dado que en estudios previos (14,15) con T. recurva y M. p. phyllosomus, se ha concluido que son una buena fuente de alimentación sanguínea, ya que favorecen ciclos cortos en los triatominos, así como otros parámetros biológicos.…”

Importance of Hybrids of <i>Meccus phyllosomus mazzottii</i>, and <i>M. p. pallidipennis</i>, and <i>M. p. phyllosomus</i> to the Transmission of <i>Trypanosoma cruzi</i> in Mexico

“…However, mean feeding times were longer than 10 min for most instars in the 9 cohorts. Mean feeding times were similar to those of T. rubida, T. protracta, and T. recurva (30)(31)(32). According to Zeled áon et al (34), species that feed for more than 10 min should be considered important potential vectors of T. cruzi because prolonged vector-host contact could increase the probability of interrupted feeding, with the consequent risk of contact with vector feces.…”

“…Similarly short defecation delays were recorded for T. rubida, T. protracta, T. recurva, and the 5th-instar nymphs of T. boliviana Martá ƒnez, Ch áavez, Sossa, Aranda, Vargas, and Vidaurre (30)(31)(32)35). Zeled áon et al (34) proposed that triatomines that defecate before 10 min postfeeding should be considered potentially effective transmitters of T. cruzi because they are usually in contact with their host for at least that period.…”