title: [Life cycle of Rhodnius brethesi Matta, 1919 (Hemiptera, Reduviidae, Triatominae), a potential vector of Chagas disease in the Amazon region].
abstract: R. brethesi is a sylvatic species from the Amazon region; it has been incriminated as responsible for the transmission of Chagas disease in collectors of piacaba in this region. The aim of present study was to investigate the efficiency of these insects as potential vectors of Trypanosoma cruzi. Aspects related with feeding and defecation patterns, life time, and mortality had been observed in each instar of R. brethesi. We use 5th instar nymphs to get adults virgins, after the moulting 3 groups with 6 females and 2 males each were created to obtain eggs. After hatching, 1st instar nymphs had been weighed and kept in bottles until the next moult. Insects were fed once a week in mice. Results showed that the average period of incubation was 17 days, the number of blood meal was increasing from the 1st to the 5th instar nymph with 7 (average) to become adult, a significative numbers of the defecations occurring immediately after the bloodmeals. The total percentual of mortality was 16%. This results suggests that this species presents a good exploitation of blood meals and a brief nymphal development in laboratory conditions reflecting its behavior in sylvatic environments.
authors.affiliation: Laboratório Nacional e Internacional de Referência em Taxonomia de Triatomíneos, Departamento de Entomologia, Instituto Oswaldo Cruz-Fiocruz, Av. Brasil 4365, Fundação Oswaldo Cruz, 21045-900 Rio de Janeiro, RJ, Brazil. dsrocha@ioc.fiocruz.br
authors.forename: Dayse da Silva
authors.initials: Dda S
authors.lastname: Rocha
authors.forename: Carolina Magalhães
authors.initials: CM
authors.lastname: dos Santos
authors.forename: Vanda
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Cunha
authors.forename: José
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Jurberg
authors.forename: Cleber
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Galvão
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001938:Brazil; D014355:Chagas Disease / Q000635:transmission; D005260:Female; D007303:Insect Vectors / Q000254:growth & development*; D008018:Life Cycle Stages; D008297:Male; D012239:Rhodnius / Q000254:growth & development*