Temporal variations of wing size and shape of Triatoma infestans (Hemiptera: Reduviidae) populations from northwestern Argentina using geometric morphometry

SCHACHTER-BROIDE J, GURTLER RE, KITRON U AND DUJARDIN JP

JOURNAL OF MEDICAL ENTOMOLOGY

ENTOMOLOGICAL SOC AMER

Lugar: Lanham; Año: 2009 vol. 46 p. 994 - 1000

0022-2585

Wing geometric morphometry of Triatoma infestans (Klug) (Hemiptera: Reduviidae)populations in northwestern Argentina showed that individual collection sites represent the discrete unit where metric differentiation took place. Here we studied temporal variations in wing size and shape of T. infestans populations from deÞned capture sites on three occasions between 2000 and 2003. Bugs collected from domiciles and/or storerooms had signiÞcantly larger right-wing centroid size than bugs collected at goat and/or pig corrals by the end of summer 2000 for both sexes. Conversely, male bugs collected from domiciles and/or storerooms had signiÞcantly smaller centroid size than bugs collected from pig corrals in spring 2002. The inversion in wing centroid size between seasons was consistent between sexes. Wing shape analysis from the south-central extreme of the study village showed divergence between collection dates for both sexes. Wing shape divergence was highly signiÞcant between male bugs collected by the end of summer 2000 and those collected in spring 2002 and by the end of summer 2003. For females, wing shape divergence was marginally signiÞcant between the end of summer 2000 and spring 2002, and signiÞcant between spring 2002 and the end of summer 2003. Unlike season-related variations in wing centroid size, shape differentiation was related to the time period elapsed between sample collections and suggested genetic inßuences actingon shape. Simultaneous consideration of wing size and shape provided complementary information on the direction and timing of bug dispersal. Morphological studies may allow determining the degree of relatedness of different bug populations and to associate morphological heterogeneity with temporal patterns of reinfestation.