title: The association of Triatoma maculata (Ericsson 1848) with the gecko Thecadactylus rapicauda (Houttuyn 1782) (Reptilia: Squamata: Gekkonidae): a strategy of domiciliation of the Chagas disease peridomestic vector in Venezuela?
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To investigate the bioecological relationship between Chagas disease peridomestic vectors and reptiles as source of feeding.
  
  
  METHODS
  In a three-story building, triatomines were captured by direct search and electric vacuum cleaner search in and outside the building. Then, age structure of the captured Triatoma maculata (T. maculata) were identified and recorded. Reptiles living in sympatric with the triatomines were also searched.
  
  
  RESULTS
  T. maculata were found living sympatric with geckos (Thecadactylus rapicauda) and they bit residents of the apartment building in study. A total of 1 448 individuals of T. maculata were captured within three days, of which 74.2% (1 074 eggs) were eggs, 21.5% were nymphs at different stages, and 4.3% were adults.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The association of T. maculata and T. rapicauda is an effective strategy of colonizing dwellings located in the vicinity of the habitat where both species are present; and therefore, could have implications of high importance in the intradomiciliary transmission of Chagas disease.
authors.affiliation: Medical Entomology Section, Institute of Tropical Medicine, Universidad Central de Venezuela, Caracas, Venezuela.
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Reyes-Lugo
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Reyes-Contreras
authors.forename: I
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Salvi
authors.forename: W
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Gelves
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Avilán
authors.forename: D
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Llavaneras
authors.forename: L F
authors.initials: LF
authors.lastname: Navarrete
authors.forename: G
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Cordero
authors.forename: E E
authors.initials: EE
authors.lastname: Sánchez
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Rodríguez-Acosta
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000818:Animals; D014355:Chagas Disease / Q000635:transmission; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D043344:Chordata / Q000469:parasitology*; D017753:Ecosystem; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D012104:Reptiles / Q000469:parasitology; D014224:Triatoma / Q000254:growth & development*; D014349:Trypanosoma cruzi / Q000302:isolation & purification*; D014687:Venezuela
keywords: Chagas disease; Gekkonidae; Reduviidae; Thecadactylus rapicauda; Triatoma maculate; Trypanosoma cruzi; Vector domiciliation