Triatoma rubrovaria
has become the most frequently captured
triatomine species after the control of
T. infestans in the State of Rio
Grande do Sul (RS), Brazil. Isoenzymatic and chromatic studies indicate the existence
of, at least, two distinct phenotypic patterns of
T. rubrovaria in RS.
The geographic variation noted through molecular tools may also result in distinct
profiles of vectorial potentiality. In order to enhance our understanding of the
bionomic knowledge of
T. rubrovaria separate batches of the species were
collected from different municipalities of RS distant from 72 to 332 km: Santana
do Livramento (natural ecotope), Santana do Livramento (artificial ecotope), Santiago
(natural ecotope), Canguçu (peridomicile) and Encruzilhada do Sul (natural
ecotope). A total of 285 specimens were collected, 85 specimens kept sufficient
fecal material in their guts for the precipitin analysis. The results indicated
the food eclecticism for this species and the anti-rodent serum showed the highest
positivity in most localities. From the total of analyzed samples, only 1.3% of
unique positivity for human blood was registered, all of them for Santiago population.
This reactivity to human blood may be associated to pastures activities in the
field.
