Flight and nutritional status of sylvatic Triatoma sordida and Triatoma guasayana

François Noireau (1) , Jean-Pierre Dujardin (2)

1 IRD [Bolivie] - Institut de Recherche pour le Développement
2 MIVEGEC - Maladies infectieuses et vecteurs : écologie, génétique, évolution et contrôle

Nutritional status relating to flight activity was investigated in natural populations of Triatoma sordida and T. guasayana during the dry season in the Bolivian Chaco. The peak flight activity of both species was unimodal and covered the period 61-180 min after sunset. The weight of insects was used as the indicator of nutritional status. Interspecies comparisons employing the same sex and type of capture showed a higher weight for T. guasayana. No significant difference according to weight was observed between flying insects and those collected in natural ecotopes (hollow trees and bromeliads). More than 87% of insects collected from natural ecotopes displayed flight ability under the study conditions, explaining their tendency to invade artificial structures during the dry season.

Mots clés: ACTIVITE DE VOL; BOLIVIE; CHACO REGION; ETUDE COMPARATIVE; VARIATION SAISONNIERE; DISPERSION; ETAT NUTRITIONNEL; ETHOLOGIE; VECTEUR; INSECTE NUISIBLE

Domaines: Zoologie des invertébrés; Ecosystèmes

François Noireau, Jean-Pierre Dujardin. Flight and nutritional status of sylvatic Triatoma sordida and Triatoma guasayana. Memórias do Instituto Oswaldo Cruz, 2001, 96 (3), pp.385-389. ⟨10.1590/S0074-02762001000300018⟩. ⟨hal-01256426⟩