Zeledón R, Alvarado R, Jirón L F
Acta Trop. 1977 Mar;34(1):65-77.
A comparative laboratory study of feeding and defecation behavior of three species of tritomines (Rhodnius prolixus, Triatoma infestans and T. dimidiata) indicated evident differences among the species and among the different stages of same species. Time required for a full blood meal was related to the size of the specimen. Insects required an average of 11-28 min for engorgement although some finished within 10 min. T. dimidata frequently interrupted the act of feeding, a probable explanation of the higher number of defecations before finishing a blood meal observed in the species. R. prolixus was superior to the other two species in number of defecating insects and in rapidity and frequency of defecations within a given time. T. dimidiata was inferior in all three parameters and T. infestans was intermediate. Males of all species tended to be less effective. A "defecation index" is proposed for comparing this different behavior in triatomine specimens under standard conditions. Effectivity of the insects according to the measured parameters is discussed in relation to the prevalence of Chagas' disease in those areas where they are principal vectors.
一项关于三种锥蝽（长红锥蝽、骚扰锥蝽和居间锥蝽）取食和排便行为的比较实验室研究表明，不同物种之间以及同一物种的不同阶段之间存在明显差异。饱餐一顿所需的时间与标本大小有关。昆虫饱食平均需要11 - 28分钟，不过有些在10分钟内就完成了。居间锥蝽经常中断取食行为，这可能是该物种在饱餐一顿前排便次数较多的原因。在排便昆虫数量以及给定时间内排便的速度和频率方面，长红锥蝽优于其他两个物种。居间锥蝽在这三个参数上均较差，骚扰锥蝽则处于中间水平。所有物种的雄性往往效率较低。提出了一个“排便指数”，用于在标准条件下比较锥蝽标本的这种不同行为。根据测量参数讨论了昆虫的效率与恰加斯病在它们作为主要传播媒介的地区的流行情况之间的关系。
