Article
Feeding behaviour of Belminus ferroae (Hemiptera: Reduviidae), a predaceous Triatominae colonizing rural houses in Norte de Santander, Colombia
Registro en:
SANDOVAL, C. M. et al. Feeding behaviour of Belminus ferroae (Hemiptera: Reduviidae), a predaceous Triatominae colonizing rural houses in Norte de Santander, Colombia. Medical and Veterinary Entomology, v. 24, p.124–131, 2010.
0269-283X
10.1111/j.1365-2915.2010.00868.x
1365-2915
Autor
Sandoval, C. M.
Ortiz, N.
Jaimes, D.
Lorosa, Elias
Galvão, Cleber F.
Rodriguez, O.
Scorza, J. V.
Gutiérrez, R.
Resumen
Belminus ferroae (Hemiptera: Reduviidae) was collected from houses in the localities of San Alberto and Santa Catalina in the municipality of Toledo, Department of Norte de Santander, Colombia. Precipitin tests revealed that the main hosts of B. ferroae are insects belonging to the order Blattodea, whose haemolymph serves as food (89.43%). A low rate of haematophagy was indicated on rodents, dogs and humans (7.32%) and no natural infection with Trypanosoma cruzi was found by either microscopic examination or polymerase chain reaction. The finding of B. ferroae inside houses, feeding primarily on Blattodea with only a minor tendency to feed on vertebrate blood, is indicative of both the evolutionary path from predator to blood-sucker taken by Triatominae and their tendency to adapt from silvatic to domestic habitats. 2030-01-01