title: Feeding and defaecation behaviour of Triatoma patagonica (Del Ponte, 1929) (Hemiptera: Reduviidae).
abstract: Among the vectors of Chagas disease, Triatoma patagonica is a species in the process of adaptation to the human environment being recently registered in urban and suburban zones. However, its importance as a vector of Chagas disease is unknown. The aim of this work was to evaluate two aspects of vectorial competence: the feeding behaviour and the defaecation pattern. These processes were studied in females of T. patagonica fed ad libitum on a restrained pigeon. The results showed that the blood meal size was negatively correlated with the time of first defaecation (r = -0.42). The first defaecation was emitted before the first 10 min and defaecations during feeding were frequent. A total of 73% of females, defaecated during the first 30 min post-feeding. These results suggest that if this species subsequently colonizes the domicile, it would be capable of transmitting Trypanosoma cruzi.
authors.affiliation: Cátedra de Introducción a la Biología, Facultad de Ciencias Exactas Físicas y Naturales, Universidad Nacional de Córdoba, Córdoba, Argentina. jnattero@efn.uncor.edu
authors.forename: Julieta
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Nattero
authors.forename: Liliana B
authors.initials: LB
authors.lastname: Crocco
authors.forename: Claudia S
authors.initials: CS
authors.lastname: Rodriguez
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001118:Argentina; D014355:Chagas Disease / Q000635:transmission; D010856:Columbidae; D003672:Defecation / Q000502:physiology; D005247:Feeding Behavior / Q000502:physiology; D005260:Female; D007303:Insect Vectors / Q000502:physiology*; D013997:Time Factors; D014224:Triatoma / Q000502:physiology*; D014349:Trypanosoma cruzi