Abstract
Determinant aspects of the development cycle of Panstrongylus rufotuberculatus (Champion, 1899) were evaluated under laboratory conditions. Fertility, duration of life cycle, mortality rate, feeding time, defecation time, thermal reaction time to food source, and volume of blood ingested were studied. From an initial cohort of fifth instars, nine adult pairs were formed, the females of which oviposited 2,338 eggs over 231 d. The eclosion rate was 84.4%; female and male progeny lived 223.56 (14.41) and 180.78 (14.41) d, respectively. The average total life cycle of immature stages (138.82+/-51.42 d) was distributed as egg, 24.22+/-0.42 d; nymph I, 18.94+/-5.15 d; nymph II, 15.80+/-3.29 d; nymph III, 16.55+/-4.36 d; nymph IV, 25.50+/-7.32 d; and nymph V, 36.71+/-2.75 d. Given these values, 2.6 generations per year are possible. Because of its longevity, rapid response to the presence of a host, large volume of blood ingested, and frequent defecation during feeding, this species constitutes a potentially important vector of Chagas' disease in nonendemic rural areas.
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