Initial report of Panstrongylus rufotuberculatus (Champion, 1899) Triatominae (Hemiptera: Reduviidae) in Roraima, western Amazon state, Brazil

ABSTRACT

Background:

This study is the first report of the species Panstrongylus rufotuberculatus in Roraima, a state in northern Brazil.

Methods:

We collected specimens from a residence in the municipality of Rorainópolis.

Results:

Our findings confirmed the occurrence of this species in Roraima, increasing the number of registered species from six to seven.

Conclusions:

Future studies are required to further investigate and expand our knowledge of the occurrence of this species and its epidemiological importance for this state.

Keywords:
Chagas disease; Disease vectors; Reduviidae; Triatominae

Chagas disease, or American trypanosomiasis, is a neglected disease caused by the protozoan Trypanosoma cruzi. This disease is transmitted by blood-sucking insects of the Reduviidae family and Triatominae subfamily¹.

Worldwide, 157 species of triatomines have been described, with at least 67 occurring in Brazil and 20 in the Brazilian Amazon². In the state of Roraima, six species have been described (distributed in three genera): Panstrongylus geniculatus (Latreille, 1811), Triatoma maculata (Erichson, 1848), Rhodnius pictipes (Stål, 1972), Rhodnius robustus (Larrousse, 1927), Rhodnius montenegrensis (Rosa et al., 2012), and Eratyrus mucronatus (Stål, 1859)^2-4. However, based on comparisons with other states in the western Amazon, the number of triatomines has likely been underestimated since eight to eleven species are known in the neighboring states of Acre, Amazonas, and Rondônia^5-7.

The current study describes the first report of P. rufotuberculatus in Roraima, a state in the western Brazilian Amazon.

A specimen of P. rufotuberculatus was collected from inside a residence in the municipality of Rorainópolis (latitude: 9°29’971”S, longitude: 60°40’8647”W). The specimen was found in a spider's web, from which it was removed and sent to the Department of Entomology, Tropical Medicine Hospital Heitor Vieira Dourado. The morphological characteristics described by Lent and Wygodzinsky and Galvão^8,9 were used to identify the specimen as P. rufotuberculatus.

The collected specimen was reasonably preserved although dry, and for this reason, we did not search for trypanosomatids to avoid damaging the specimen. P. rufotuberculatus (Figure 1) has the following characteristics: golden bristles on the dorsal surface of the body; reddish tubercles on the anterior lobe of the pronotum; a scutellum process that is short, rounded, conical, or truncated at the tip; connective segments with dark spots in the center; and light green forewings^8,10.

FIGURE 1:
Male P. rufotuberculatus. (A) Dorsal and (B) ventral views.

This reported occurrence of P. rufotuberculatus in Roraima expands the geographic distribution of the species in Brazil to six states: Acre, Amazonas, Mato Grosso, Pará, Rondônia^5,6 and Roraima, all of which form part of the Brazilian Legal Amazon (Figure 2). This species exists in other countries such as: Argentina, Bolivia, Colombia, Costa Rica, Ecuador, French Guiana, Mexico, Panama, Peru, Suriname, and Venezuela^7,9 (Figure 2).

FIGURE 2: Record
of P. rufotuberculatusreported in South America.

Although P. rufotuberculatus has not been considered a species of great epidemiological importance, it has been found in dwellings (i.e., invasion and domiciliation and peridomiciliary environments)⁷. This characteristic creates the need for a public health alert, since this species is known to be naturally infected with Trypanosoma cruzi, as observed in different South American countries^11-13, and occurring from Argentina to Venezuela^14,15.

The reported occurrence of this triatomine in Roraima increases the number of species described in the state from six to seven, demonstrating the need for future studies to better understand this occurrence and its epidemiological importance for this state. This knowledge may support the development of prophylactic measures for Chagas disease throughout the state.

REFERENCES

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• ¹¹
  Zeledón R, Ugalde JA, Paniagua LA. Entomological and Ecological Aspects of Six Silvatic Species of Triatomines (Hemiptera, Reduviidae) from the collection of the National Biodiversity Institute of Costa Rica, Central America. Mem Inst Oswaldo Cruz . 2001;96(6):757-64.
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  Torres DB, Cabrera R. Geographical distribution and intra-domiciliary capture of sylvatic triatomines in La Convención Province, Cusco, Peru. Rev Inst Med Trop São Paulo . 2010;52(3):157-60.
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  Grijalva MJ, Villacís AG, Moncayo AL, Ocaña-Mayorga, Yumiseva CA, Baus EG. Distribution of triatomine species in domestic and peridomestic environments in central coastal Ecuador. PLoS Negl Trop Dis. 2017;11(10):1-17.
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  Salomón OD, Ripoll CM, Rivetti E, Carcavallo RU. Presence of Panstongrylus rufotuberculatus (Champion,1899) (Hemiptera: Reduviidae: Triatominae) in Argentina. Mem Inst Oswaldo Cruz . 1999;94(3):285-8.
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  Reyes-Lugo M, Díaz-Bello Z, Abate T, Avilán A. Stridulatory sound emisson of Panstrogylus rufotuberculatus Champion, 1899, (Hemiptera: Reduviidae: Triatominae). Braz J Biol. 2006;66(2):443-6.

• Financial Support: Fundação de Amparo a Pesquisa do Estado do Amazonas-FAPEAM, processo 062.00216/2020.

Publication Dates

• Publication in this collection
  24 Oct 2022
• Date of issue
  2022

History

• Received
  19 Feb 2022
• Accepted
  06 May 2022