Article
Ecological aspects of Rhodnius nasutus Stål, 1859 (Hemiptera: Reduviidae: Triatominae) in palms of the Chapada do Araripe in Ceará, Brazil
Registro en:
Dias, Fernando Braga Stehling et al. Ecological aspects of Rhodnius nasutus Stål, 1859 (Hemiptera: Reduviidae: Triatominae) in palms of the Chapada do Araripe in Ceará, Brazil. Mem Inst Oswaldo Cruz. 2008, Vol. 103(8): 824-830.
Autor
Dias, Fernando Braga Stehling
Bezerra, Claudia Mendonça
Machado, Evandro Marques de Menezes
Casanova, Cláudio
Diotaiuti, Liléia Gonçalves
Resumen
The aim of this work is to present aspects related to the ecology of Rhodnius nasutus Stål, 1859 in palms from Chapada do Araripe in Ceará, Brazil. The following five species of palms were investigated: babaçu (Attalea specio-sa), buriti (Mauritia flexuosa), carnaúba (Copernicia prunifera), catolé (Syagrus oleracea) and macaúba-barriguda (Acrocomia intumescens). Fifth palms were dissected (10 specimens for each species). The overall infestation index was 86%, with a total of 521 triatomines collected. The Trypanosoma cruziChagas, 1909 Index was 16.8% and two insects presented mixed infection with Trypanosoma rangeliTejera, 1920. A precipitin test showed that R. nasutus from palms of Chapada do Araripe are associated with opossum and bird although other possible bloodmeals were observed. Our results showing a high index of infestation of the palms as well as T. cruziinfection, the association of R. nasutuswith the most diverse species of palms and proximity of these palms to houses demonstrate the importance of this area for sylvatic T. cruzitransmission and suggest the need for epidemiological surveillance in the region of the Chapada do Araripe.