|
Triatoma infestans is one
of more than 110 species of the Triatomae subfamily
from the Reduviidae family. Most of them live
in America. Their food is blood, no matter age
or sex.
Some of them, including Triatoma infestans, live
very close to human houses. They hide during the
day and at night they leave their shelter looking
for food. For more information look "Life
Habits" section.
Triatomae
Triatomae is a Reduviidae subfamily or killer
bedbugs. There are 118 known species that go from
5 mm to 45 mm and 14 genders. More then a half
of these species can transmit the T.
cruzi parasite.
Searching the innkeeper
The triatomes leave their shelter during the
night searching innkeepers. In some experiments
they have been attracted by hamsters, mice and
humans. The most important attractive factor seems
to be breathing.
Warmth
Some experiments carried out with species like
Panstrongylus geniculatos, Rhodnius pictipes,
and Eratyrus cuspidatus showed that the heat is
a very important factor on the extension of these
species. However, it is not as important as carbon
dioxide.
Carbon dioxide
Wiesinger (1956) found that a mixture of heat
(36 - 40 C ) and carbon dioxide is more attractive
to the Triatoma infestans than only hot air. Some
other experiments carried out by Rose and Boeckh
(1996) showed more or less the same.
Other important
smells from the innkeeper
Other smells also play a very important role
in the orientation of the Triatoma infestans.
Some experiments have showed that some smells
like the urine from the rabbits and the hamster's
smell still attractive to these species, without
taking into account the carbon dioxide.
Source of Information
• Dr. Andreas M. Rose
Welcome to The Bloodsucker´s Rosegarden
(Information on Triatomine bugs)
http://www.arose.net/triatoma/
More Information
• The Kissing Bug
• Development
• Geographic
zones
• Life habits
• Other infectious
species
• Biological
Information
• Frequently Asked Questions
|
