The origin of Rhodnius prolixus in Central America

Abstract

Rhodnius prolixus Stal (Hemiptera, Reduviidae) is the main domestic vector of Chagas disease in Venezuela and Colombia, and also in parts of Central América (El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras and Nicaragua). In Central America it seems to be confined entirely to domestic and peridomestic habitats, whereas sylvatic populations have been recognized in various parts of Venezuela and Colombia, mainly in palm tree crowns, which are assumed to represent the original ecotope of this species (e.g. Gamboa, 1963).