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15 February 2019 Life Cycle, Feeding, and Defecation Patterns of Triatoma carrioni (Hemiptera: Reduviidae), under Laboratory Conditions
N. Anabel Padilla, Ana L. Moncayo, Clifford B. Keil, Mario J. Grijalva, Anita G. Villacís
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Abstract

Chagas disease is caused by Trypanosoma cruzi (Kinetoplastida:Trypanosomatidae). It is transmitted to humans primarily through contaminated feces of blood-sucking vectors of the subfamilyTriatominae, known in Ecuador as ‘chinchorros’. Some Triatominae species can adapt to domiciliary and peridomiciliary environments where T. cruzi can be transmitted to humans. Triatoma carrioni (Larrousse 1926) colonizes domestic and peridomestic habitats up to 2,242 m above sea level (masl) in southern Ecuador (Loja Province) and northern Peru.This study describes the life cycle, feeding, and defecation patterns of T. carrioni under controlled laboratory conditions using mice as hosts. Specimens were collected in Loja Province, Ecuador, and maintained in the laboratory. The life cycle was approximately 385.7 ± 110.6 d. There was a high mortality rate, 40.9% for first instars and 38.9% for fifth instars (NV). Feeding and defecation patterns for each life stage were examined by recording: insertion time of the proboscis into the host, total feeding time, time to first defecation, and weight of the bloodmeal. Total feeding time varied between 20.6 ± 11.4 min for first instars (NI) and 48.9 ± 19.0 min for adult females. The time to first defecation was variable but ranged from 9.8 ± 10.6 min for NI to 39.4 ± 24.7 min for NV during feeding. This suggests that T. carrioni has an annual life cycle and is a potential vector of T. cruzi in Loja Province. Improved knowledge of populations of T. carrioni in domestic and peridomestic environments of Ecuador can have a significant impact on the prevention and control of Chagas disease.

© The Author(s) 2019. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of Entomological Society of America. All rights reserved. For permissions, please e-mail: journals.permissions@oup.com.
N. Anabel Padilla, Ana L. Moncayo, Clifford B. Keil, Mario J. Grijalva, and Anita G. Villacís "Life Cycle, Feeding, and Defecation Patterns of Triatoma carrioni (Hemiptera: Reduviidae), under Laboratory Conditions," Journal of Medical Entomology 56(3), 617-624, (15 February 2019). https://doi.org/10.1093/jme/tjz004
Received: 30 July 2018; Accepted: 23 December 2018; Published: 15 February 2019
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KEYWORDS
Chagas disease
Ecuador
life cycle
Triatoma carrioni
Triatominae
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