Dynamics of Thermopreference in the Chagas Disease Vector Panstrongylus megistus (Hemiptera: Reduviidae)

PIRES, H. H. R.; LAZZARI, C. R.; SCHILMAN, P. E.; DIOTAIUTI, L.; LORENZO, M. G.

JOURNAL OF MEDICAL ENTOMOLOGY

ENTOMOLOGICAL SOC AMER

Año: 2002 vol. 39 p. 716 - 719

0022-2585

The thermopreference of resting P. megistus (Burmeister, 1834) adults was studied in a temperature gradient. We also determined the thermopreference for oviposition and ecdysis. Thermopreference of resting individuals depended on the feeding state of the insects. Results demonstrated an initial resting preference of ≈29°C, which gradually changed to 26?27°C with increasing starvation. A daily variation in thermopreference was also observed with this species. The insects showed a daily maximum preference at the beginning of the dark phase, and a minimum preference during the first half of the light phase. Ecdysis took place all along the gradient, but exhibited a maximum frequency at 30°C. Most eggs were found between 25 and 29°C. Results are discussed in relation to the ecology of P. megistus as compared with other related species, and the existence of mechanisms of behavioral thermoregulation in the group.