Observations on the domestic ecology of Rhodnius ecuadoriensis (Triatominae).
Rhodnius ecuadoriensis infests peridomiciles and colonises houses in rural southern Ecuador. Six out of 84 dwellings (7%) surveyed in a rural village were infested (78 bugs/infested domicile; 279 bugs were collected in a single dwelling). Precipitin tests revealed R. ecuadoriensis fed on birds (65%), rodents (31%), marsupials (8%), and humans (15%) - mixed bloodmeals detected in 37.5% of individual samples. Trypanosoma cruzi from opossums and rodents may thus be introduced into the domestic cycle. Wasp parasitoidism was detected in 6.5% of 995 R. ecuadoriensis eggs (only in peridomestic habitats). Control strategies should integrate insecticide spraying (indoors and peridomestic), better management of poultry, and housing improvements. A possible inefficacy of Malathion is reported.
Abad-Franch
F
F
Unidad de Medicina Tropical, Instituto 'Juan César García', Quito, Ecuador. Fernando.Abad-Franch@lshtm.ca.uk
Aguilar V
H M
HM
Paucar C
A
A
Lorosa
E S
ES
Noireau
F
F
D000818:Animals; D017753:Ecosystem; D004484:Ecuador; D005247:Feeding Behavior / Q000502:physiology*; D006798:Housing; D006801:Humans; D007303:Insect Vectors / Q000502:physiology*; D011156:Population Density; D012239:Rhodnius / Q000502:physiology*