Rhodnius neglectus Lent, 1954 {Rn}and Psammolestes tertius Lent & Jurberg, 1965 {Pt} are triatomines that occur in bird nests, mainly furnarid nests. Their biological cycles are known in laboratory conditions and few studies were done in wild ecotopes. To analyze the infestation and population structure of Rn and Pt in bird nests on Mauritia flexuosa Linnaeus palm trees in two climatic seasons we sampled 41 palm trees with Phacellodomus ruber Vieillot, 1817 nests (22 in the wet season and 19 in the dry season) in four areas of Distrito Federal. The insects were collected by manual capture in the crown of palms, identified, separated by sex and immature stages. Faeces and salivary glands of Rn were examined to verify Trypanosoma cruzi Chagas, 1909 and/or T. rangeli Tejera, 1920 infection. Thirty five palm trees with P. ruber nests were infested by Rn (85%) and 22 by Pt (53%). 442 insects were collected in the dry season (200 Rn and 242 Pt) and 267 in the wet season (136 Rn and 131 Pt). The area was the only factor related with triatomine density in palm trees. The population structure showed: a) higher abundance of adults in Pt populations, b) higher abundance of males in both species and, c) females laying eggs in both seasons. Within the 177 insects examined none was infected by T. cruzi or T. rangeli. The population structure of Rn and Pt were not significantly different in the wet and the dry season, suggesting no seasonality reproduction.
Arecaceae; Cerrado; Rhodniini; Triatominae
