Browsing by Autor "M. Torrez"

Now showing 1 - 3 of 3

Domiciliation process of <i>Rhodnius stali</i> (Hemiptera: Reduviidae) in Alto Beni, La Paz, Bolivia
(Wiley, 2003) A. Matias; J De la Riva; E. Martínez; M. Torrez; JP Dujardin
We report a systematic collection of Triatominae inside houses and in the peridomestic environment of Alto Beni, department of La Paz, Bolivia. This area is free of Triatoma infestans and although we detected previously seropositivity for Trypanosoma cruzi, the Alto Beni region is not officially considered as endemic for Chagas disease. From 11 houses of five localities, we collected adults, nymphs and eggs of a Rhodnius species, which was confirmed by morphological and morphometric analysis as Rhodnius stali. This little-known species has long been confused with R. pictipes, and was originally described from museum specimens labelled as R. pictipes. Our data show that R. stali is able to establish colonies in domestic and peridomestic habitats in Bolivia, and it is probably the vector responsible for Chagas disease seropositivity observed in the indigenous population of Alto Beni.
Morphometrics of domestic <i>Panstrongylus rufotuberculatus</i> in Bolivia
(Maney Publishing, 1998) JP Dujardin; G. Forgues; M. Torrez; E. Martínez; C. Cordoba; Alberto Gianella
The trend to domesticity in Triatominae may represent a transitionary phase towards increasing vectorial importance in the transmission of Chagas disease to humans, and requires sustained entomological surveillance. Although generally considered a sylvatic species, Panstrongylus rufotuberculatus has been recently captured inside human dwellings in the provinces of Nor Yungas and Muñecas in the Department of La Paz, Bolivia, providing evidence of this species' ability to colonise domestic habitats. The results of previous research on domestic and sylvatic specimens of other species of Triatominae indicate that morphometries could be used to monitor this adaptive process. The most likely cause of differences seen in the size and shape of bugs from domestic colonies of P. rufotuberculatus from two neighbouring villages in Bolivia is probably genetic drift rather than environmental influences. Comparison with allopatric sylvatic specimens, including the holotype of P. rufotuberculatus, showed a general reduction in size from sylvatic to domestic specimens.
Rhodnius robustus in Bolivia identified by its wings
(Instituto Oswaldo Cruz, Ministério da Saúde, 2001) A. Matias; J De la Riva; M. Torrez; JP Dujardin
Wings of a Rhodnius specimen from Alto Beni (Bolivia) was examined for identification and compared with R. stali, R. robustus, (certified Bolivian species), R. pictipes and R. prolixus (suspected Bolivian species). A projection of the unidentified wings as supplementary data into a discriminant analysis of shape revealed clear cut differences with R. stali and R. pictipes, less differences with R. prolixus, and none with R. robustus. Combining global size and shape of the wings, the unknown specimen was identified as R. robustus. Thus, this study confirmed the presence of R. robustus in Bolivia. It also highlighted the possibility of morphometrics to taxonomically interpret one individual, or even one piece of an individual, when related species data are available for comparison.