Antennal morphology and markers related to the flight capacity of Triatominae.

HERNÁNDEZ M L

Quito

Congreso; IV Encuentro Internacional de Investigación en Enfermedades Infecciosas y Medicina Tropical; 2016

Pontificia Universidad Católica de Ecuador

Triatominae insects are vectors for Trypanosoma cruzi, the Chagas disease parasite, and their flying behaviour poses questions that are of epidemiological importance. In Triatominae, the flying capacity shows striking differences between species, but also within species between sexes or individuals. In Triatoma infestans, it has been shown that an important proportion of individuals could have wings but no flying muscles. In other species, no clear relationships could be observed between wing lenght and flying behaviour.If the presence or size of wings is not warrant of the flying behaviour, which other parts of the body could be taken as a reliable witness of this important function?To answer the question, we used the excepcional caracteristics of the genus Mepraia, the only taxon with invariably wingless females, and wingless or winged males.We show that alary polymorphism in M. spinolai was significantly associated with consistent modification in the torax size, in head shape, as well as with a notable change in the estimated olfactory capacity.The studied phenetic characteristics can serve as variable to demostrate differences in flight potential in Triatominae insects. Morphological atributes not found on wings could help determining the likely flying potential of the bugs. The importance of these modifications are discussed within the behavioral and ecological context.