Feeding and defecation behavior of two populations of Triatoma longipennis (Hemiptera: Reduviidae: Triatominae) from Central Mexico.

Chagas disease is one of the most important vector-borne diseases in Mexico. Triatoma longipennis (Usinger. 1939) is one of the most epidemiologically important vector species of Trypanosoma cruzi (Chagas, 1909), the etiological agent of Chagas disease. This study reports the third collection of T. longipennis from the state of Hidalgo, Mexico. This paper evaluates and compares feeding and defecation behaviors for each instar of two populations of T. longipennis recently detected in Hidalgo, Mexico. No significant differences were noted between the two populations in the mean time to initiate feeding (immediate "attack"), feeding times (> 10 min), and defecation delay (when feeding or immediately after feeding: 77% to 99% vs 84.5% to 100%). These observed behaviors in the two populations of T. longipennis from Hidalgo align with the characteristics of an effective transmitter of T. cruzi. Given these results, the recently detected populations of T. longipennis could be considered significant potential vectors of T. cruzi to human populations and may replace key triatomine species within their new distribution area.