Can body traits, other than wings, reflect the flight ability of Triatominae bugs?

HERNÁNDEZ M L; DUJARDIN JEAN PIERRE; GORLA D; CATALA S

REVISTA DA SOCIEDADE BRASILEIRA DE MEDICINA TROPICAL

SOC BRASILEIRA MEDICINA TROPICAL

Lugar: BRASIL; Año: 2015 vol. 48 p. 682 - 691

0037-8682

Introduction: Triatominae insects are vectors for Trypanosoma cruzi, the Chagas disease parasite, and their flying behaviour has epidemiological importance. In Triatominae, the flying capacity shows striking differences among 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 wing presence or size is not a warrant of the flying behaviour, which other parts of the body could be taken as a reliable witness of this important function? Methods: We used the exceptional characteristics of the genus Mepraia, the only taxon with invariably wingless females, and wingless or winged males. We calculated the porous surface exposed to odorants molecules as an estimation of the olfactory capacity in Mepraia spinolai. The head shape was estimated using the geometric morphometric approach, and the thorax size was estimated using traditional morphometric techniques. Results: Alary polymorphism in Mepraia spinolai was significantly associated with consistent modification in the thorax size, in the head shape, as well as with a notable change in the estimated olfactory capacity. The macropterous have a larger olfactory surface, larger thorax size and significant differences in the head shape, as compared to the micropterous. Conclusions: We conclude that these body changes could be linked to the flying potential of Triatominae. Thus, morphological attributes not found on wings could help determine the likely flying potential of the bugs.