Panstrongylus geniculatus
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| Panstrogylus geniculatus | ||||||||||||||
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| Panstrongylus geniculatus (Latreille, 1811) |
Panstrogylus geniculatus is a blood-sucking insect noted as a putative vector of minor importance in the transmission of Trypanosoma cruzi to humans i.e. Chagas disease. This species has been catalogued as exclusively sylvatic, usually living in humid forests in diverse vertebrate nesting places, especially armadillo (Dasypus) burrows. It has a wide distribution, ranging from southern Mexico down to northern Argentina, including several Caribbean islands.
There have been few scientific studies of this particular species because of the low number of collected specimens and difficulties in rearing and maintening populations in the laboratory. However, currently P. geniculatus is receiving attention as a potential vector of American trypanosomiasis due to reports of this species invading the domestic and peridomestic habitats over a vast area: Venezuela, Colombia, Brazil, Peru, Ecuador, and Argentina.
P. geniculatus is apparently in the process of domiciliation using the same strategies as highly domesticated species like Triatoma infestans and Rhodnius prolixus. This is also the case for other sylvatic triatomine species (Triatominae) that are experiencing similar ecological pressures originated by human disruption of the natural habitat.
[edit] References
- Feliciangeli MD, Carrasco H, Patterson JS, Suarez B, Martinez C, Medina M (2004) Mixed domestic infestation by Rhodnius prolixus Stal, 1859 and Panstrongylus geniculatus Latreille, 1811, vector incrimination, and seroprevalence for Trypanosoma cruzi among inhabitants in El Guamito, Lara State, Venezuela. Am J Trop Med Hyg 71(4):501-5
- Wolff M, Castillo D (2000) Evidencias de domesticación y aspectos biológicos de Panstrogylus geniculatus (Letreille, 1811) (Hemiptera: Rediviidae). Acta Entomol Chil 24:77-83
