The resistance to starvation of
Triatoma vitticeps
has been analyzed comparatively, according
to different regimens of food deprivation under laboratory conditions. One cohort,
composed of 100 specimens of each evolutionary nymphal stage, was submitted to
continuous fasting until death; the second group, arranged in the same way, was
fed once on chicken. Through this work, it was possible not only to compare the
results obtained from the first group with other authors' results but, also,
to analyze the dynamics of evolution, molting, longevity and the increase in insect
longevity, in the second group. The average values recorded for survival time
revealed statistical differences between the two groups. Among the important results
detected, there is one that deserves to be emphasized: the incredible increase
in longevity among insects that received only one feed – an average increase
in survival time that reached 2.95 to 3.30 times in nymphs of 3rd and 4th stages,
respectively. One 5th stage nymph survived for up to 350 days and the females
may triplicate their survival rate, what represents an important epidemiological
factor. The knowledge about this type of biological characteristic of
T. vitticeps
may contribute to prevent the domiciliation of this species, what seems to be
incipient in some municipal districts, in Brazil.
