Life cycle of Triatoma ryckmani (Hemiptera: Reduviidae) in the laboratory, feeding patterns in nature and experimental infection with Trypanosoma cruzi

Abstract

1972). Later on, three more female specimens were found in airplanes in Miami, United States, one from Honduras and two from Guatemala, the latter together with bromeliad plants in air freight (Lent & Wygodzynsky 1979). The first male specimen was found near the town of Santa Cruz, Guanacaste Province of Costa Rica (Sherlock & Morera 1988). Carcavallo et al. (1996) did an external morphological study, with scanning electron microscopy, of another male specimen, collected in Santa Rosa, Guanacaste Province, Costa Rica. More recently, the natural habitats of T. ryckmani were discovered in a semiarid region of El Progreso Department, Guatemala, in cacti (Stenocercus eichlamii) and epiphytic bromeliads (Tillandsia xerographica). In the first instance, all instars of the bug were found in the dry portions of the cactus (Marroquín et al. 2004a, Monroy et al. 2004; in the second situation, colonies of the bugs were also found within the leaves of the bromeliads growing on trees, including the cacti (Marroquín et al. 2004b). The species has also been found in at least four Departments of Nicaragua in small numbers in houses, under intra and peridomiciliary conditions (Marín et al. 2006 Here we describe, for the first time, the entire life cycle of T. ryckmani under laboratory conditions and the blood patterns of the different instars from specimens collected under natural conditions in Guatemala. MATERIALS AND METHODSA colony was started from specimens captured in June 2005 in bromeliads from a semidesertic area of the Department El Progreso, Guatemala, 89 km from the capital. The climate is hot and dry with a mean maxima temperature of 34.3°C (2003-2008) and a mean annual rain fall of 762.2 mm for the same period.A cohort was initiated with 121 eggs laid, during a period of six weeks, by one female captured as a 5th instar nymph. The eggs, obtained during different days, were separated in nine groups of 8-18 eggs, by date of oviposition, in 10 cm diameter plastic Petri dishes with filter paper on the bottom. They were incubated at a constant temperature with relatively little variation during the experiment (mean ± SD: 26.0 ± 0.37) and 62.0 ± 3.32 relative humidity.Each group was fed on anesthetized hamster (0.25 mL of a mixture of Ketamine, 3 parts and xylazine, 1 part) by xenodiagnosis in a small box, during 40-60 minutes, every two weeks and evidence of ecdyses was monitored daily. First instar nymphs were fed at 4-5 days after hatching. Up to the 4th instar, the nymphs required from 2-4 meals for molting; 4th and 5th instars required 5-7 meals and 9-12, respectively, even though they usually fed readily to repletion.The sources of blood meals of 37 insects, obtained from T. xerographica, were collected individually from the stomach in separate filter papers for each one and after eluded they were identified by the capillary tube precipitin test with antisera against 15 different hosts (human, fowl, dog, cat, horse, goat, cow, pig, sheep, rodent, opossum, armadillo, toad, lizard and insect hemolymph), following th...

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

“…As for various previously studied triatomine species, such as Triatoma brasiliensis Neiva, Triatoma dimidiata (Latreille) and Triatoma ryckmani Zeledón and Ponce (Daflon-Texeira et al 2009, Reyes & Angulo 2009, Zeledón et al 2010, Reyes-Novelo et al 2011, the egg eclosion rate was greater than 70% for two of the three species studied, the exception being T. recurva. All of the species studied had average incubation periods of approximately 19 days, reflecting the favourability of the maintenance conditions for the development of these species.…”

Hemi-Nested PCR and RFLP Methodologies for Identifying Blood Meals of the Chagas Disease Vector, Triatoma infestans

“…Determining the source of the blood meals will help researchers to understand the natural feeding patterns of the vector species and better resolve the epidemiology of Chagas disease in a specific area. Traditional serologic techniques, such as immunodiffusion, double gel diffusion, and precipitin tests have been used previously in blood meal analysis [5]–[7]. However, these assays are limited since they require anti-sera against specific groups or species of animals, which may not be readily available or easily generated.…”

Comparison of biological fitness in crosses between subspecies ofMeccus phyllosomus(Hemiptera: Reduviidae: Triatominae) in southern Mexico

“…The egg eclosion rates of most of the studied cohorts (with the exception of M. p. phyllosomus ) are comparable with those of different species of triatomines (e.g., T. ryckmani Zeledón and Ponce, T. juazeirensis and T. patagonica Del Ponte) (Zeledón et al ., ; Lima‐Neiva et al ., ; Nattero et al ., ), as well as with those of the 3 parental lines, as identified in previous studies (Martínez‐Ibarra et al ., , a, b). Moreover, the average incubation period was approximately 19 d, indicating favorable maintenance conditions for the development of these groups.…”