Behavioral evidence of an ectoparasitic interaction between Triatoma pseudomaculata Corrêa e Espínola (Heteroptera: Reduviidae) and Periplaneta americana (L.) (Blattodea: Blattidae)

Pontes, Gina; Noireau, François; Lorenzo, Marcelo G.

doi:10.1590/s1519-566x2011000600013

Cited by 8 publications

(9 citation statements)

References 3 publications

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“…stephensi were given time to feed on these larvae in a closed glass vessel, they exhibited persistent probing and subsequently many became engorged on the caterpillar haemolymph ( Fig. 3C ), as had been previously observed for Culex and Aedes species [9]–[11].…”

Section: Resultssupporting

confidence: 52%

“…There is intriguing evidence that haematophagous insects can, and still do, feed on larval stages of other insects, which may have been a part of the evolution toward vertebrate blood-feeding. Triatomine bugs (Hemiptera: Reduviidae) can also feed opportunistically on haemolymph of cockroaches (Blattodea) [7], [8], [9]. The proboscis extension and feeding behavior of triatomine on cockroaches suggests that arthropod haemolymph represents an alternative source of food for triatomines, and they have partially conserved their entomophagous behavior during their evolution to haematophagy [9].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Triatomine bugs (Hemiptera: Reduviidae) can also feed opportunistically on haemolymph of cockroaches (Blattodea) [7], [8], [9]. The proboscis extension and feeding behavior of triatomine on cockroaches suggests that arthropod haemolymph represents an alternative source of food for triatomines, and they have partially conserved their entomophagous behavior during their evolution to haematophagy [9]. Historic studies report black flies feeding on butterfly pupae [10] and mosquitoes attacking small dipterans and cicadas [11] and caterpillars [12], [13].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Malaria Mosquitoes Host-Locate and Feed upon Caterpillars

et al. 2014

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Adult female mosquitoes need blood to develop their eggs and both sexes use nectar and honeydew as carbohydrate resources for flight, survival and to enhance reproduction. However, there are also a few reports in the literature of mosquitoes feeding on haemolymph of soft-bodied insects such as caterpillars. The frequency and significance of this entomophagous behavior is not well understood, but is thought to be a vestige of ancestral feeding behavior or an opportunistic behavior that has evolved over time. In our current paper we investigated the extent to which the malaria mosquito, Anopheles stephensi, is attracted to, and can successfully feed on, larvae of two common moth species, Manduca sexta and Heliothis subflexa. Using y-tube olfactometer assays we found that female An. stephensi readily flew upwind to and landed on the caterpillars of both moth species. The nature of the volatile cues used in host location remains unclear but respirometer studies suggest a possible role of CO2. Laboratory cage assays further showed that the female mosquitoes were able to actively feed on moth larvae and gain sufficient nutritional benefit to influence survival. The extent to which such an opportunistic behavior occurs in the field has yet to be explored but our results suggest that this haemolymph feeding behavior could play a role in malaria mosquito life history and could provide a novel mechanism for horizontal transmission of pathogens and other micro-organisms between hosts.

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Section: Resultssupporting

confidence: 52%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Malaria Mosquitoes Host-Locate and Feed upon Caterpillars

et al. 2014

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“…In turn, adults require significant amounts of blood for energy-consuming activities such as reproduction and dispersion. As a relic of their predatory origins, some species, if sufficiently hungry, are still able to feed on the haemolymph of other insects ( Lent & Wygodzinsky 1975 , Lorosa et al 2000 , Garrouste 2009 , Pontes et al 2011 ).…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

Behavioural biology of Chagas disease vectors

Lazzari

Pereira

Lorenzo

2013

Mem. Inst. Oswaldo Cruz

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Many arthropod species have adopted vertebrate blood as their main food source. Blood is rich in nutrients and, except for the presence of parasites, sterile. However, this food source is not freely available, nor is obtaining it devoid of risk. It circulates inside vessels hidden underneath the skin of mobile hosts that are able to defend themselves and even predate the insects that try to feed on them. Thus, the haematophagous lifestyle is associated with major morphological, physiological and behavioural adaptations that have accumulated throughout the evolutionary history of the various lineages of blood-sucking arthropods. These adaptations have significant consequences for the evolution of parasites as well as for the epidemiology of vector-transmitted diseases. In this review article, we analyse various aspects of the behaviour of triatomine bugs to illustrate how each behavioural trait represents a particular adaptation to their close association with their hosts, which may easily turn into predators. Our aim is to offer to the reader an up-to-date integrative perspective on the behaviour of Chagas disease vectors and to propose new research avenues to encourage both young and experienced colleagues to explore this aspect of triatomine biology.

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“…Furthermore, Lorosa et al (2000) were successful in feeding all the nymph stages of Triatoma circummaculata (Stål) and Triatoma rubrovaria (Blanchard) with only Blattidae hemolymph under similar conditions; nonetheless, these authors apparently were unable to complete the life cycle of these species due to their needing vertebrate blood to produce a second generation. Pontes et al (2011) found that Triatoma pseudomaculata (Corrêa & Espinola) can feed on arthropods, specifically on Periplaneta americana (Linnaeus), and more recently, Sandoval et al (2013) carried out, for the first time successfully in Triatominae, the complete life cycle of B. ferroae at the expense of hemolymph of Blaberus sp.…”

Section: From the Entomophagic To Hematophagic Behaviormentioning

confidence: 99%

Evolution of hematophagous habit in Triatominae (Heteroptera: Reduviidae)

Otálora-Luna

Pérez-Sánchez

Sandoval

et al. 2015

Rev. Chil. de Hist. Nat.

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All members of Triatominae subfamily (Heteroptera: Reduviidae), potential vectors of Trypanosoma cruzi, etiologic agent of the Chagas disease, feed on blood. Through evolution, these bugs have fixed special morphological, physiological, and behavioral aptations (adaptations and exaptations) adequate to feed on blood. Phylogeny suggests that triatomines evolved from predator reduvids which in turn descended from phytophagous hemipterans. Some pleisiomorphic traits developed by the reduvid ancestors of the triatomines facilitated and modeled hematophagy in these insects. Among them, mouthparts, saliva composition, enzymes, and digestive symbionts are the most noticeable. However, the decisive step that allowed the shift from predation to hematophagy was a change of behavior. The association of a predator reduvid with nesting vertebrate (≈110 to 32 Ma) permitted the shift from an arthropod prey to a vertebrate host. In this work, we review the phylogeny and dispersion of triatomines and the current controversy over the monophyly or polyphyly of this group. We also discuss how these insects were able to overcome, and even have taken advantage of, diverse ancestral and physical barriers to adapt to sucking blood of nidicolous vertebrates. We provide a Spanish version of this work.

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Behavioral evidence of an ectoparasitic interaction between Triatoma pseudomaculata Corrêa e Espínola (Heteroptera: Reduviidae) and Periplaneta americana (L.) (Blattodea: Blattidae)

Cited by 8 publications

References 3 publications

Malaria Mosquitoes Host-Locate and Feed upon Caterpillars

Malaria Mosquitoes Host-Locate and Feed upon Caterpillars

Behavioural biology of Chagas disease vectors

Evolution of hematophagous habit in Triatominae (Heteroptera: Reduviidae)

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