Morphometric study of the nymphal instars of Rhodnius marabaensis Souza et al., 2016, R. prolixus Stål, 1859 and R. robustus Larrousse, 1927 (Hemiptera, Reduviidae, Triatominae)

• Grant number: 17/13674-0
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Scientific Initiation
• Effective date (Start): October 01, 2017
• Effective date (End): September 30, 2019
• Field of knowledge: Biological Sciences - Parasitology - Entomology and Malacology of Parasites and Vectors
• Principal Investigator: João Aristeu da Rosa
• Grantee: Gustavo Lázari Cacini
• Host Institution: Faculdade de Ciências Farmacêuticas (FCFAR). Universidade Estadual Paulista (UNESP). Campus de Araraquara. Araraquara , SP, Brazil

Abstract

Rhodnius marabaensis was collected inside the Reserva Ambiental Murumuru, in Pará, on May 12th, 2014 and described by Souza et al. in 2016. This species description was performed by the comparison between the latter and R. prolixus and also R. robustus. This recent description makes it valid to propose a morphometric study of the nymphal instars of R. marabaensis, as well as its counterparts R. prolixus and R. robustus, in order to enhance their taxonomic characterization. Besides characterizing the early instars of the recent described variety of Rodhnius, this project also has its epidemiologic importance due to the involvement of R. prolixus and R. robustus in the spreading of Chagas Disease in Brazil´s northern region. The colonies for these three Rhodnius species are kept at the Triatominae Insectarium from the Faculdade de Ciências Farmacêuticas - UNESP - Araraquara. The morphometric study will be performed using the image analyzing system "Motic R Images Advanced 3.2" and a Leica MZ APO stereomicroscope. It will be measured the length and width of the head, chest and abdomen of 15 specimen of each of the five nymphal instars of R. marabaensis, R. prolixus and R. robustus, besides the characterization of their head parameters according to Dujardin et al. These results will be organized in an electronic Microsoft Excel 2007 spreadsheet and the statistical analysis made using GraphPad Prism 7. (AU)

Scientific publications

(References retrieved automatically from Web of Science and SciELO through information on FAPESP grants and their corresponding numbers as mentioned in the publications by the authors)

LAZARI CACINI, GUSTAVO; DE OLIVEIRA, JADER; BELINTANI, TIAGO; DOS SANTOS SOUZA, EDER; OLAIA, NICOLY; PINTO, MARA CRISTINA; DA ROSA, JOAO ARISTEU. Immature instars of three species of Rhodnius Stal, 1859 (Hemiptera, Reduviidae, Triatominae): morphology, morphometry, and taxonomic implications. PARASITES & VECTORS, v. 15, n. 1, p. 16-pg., 2022-03-18. (17/13674-0, 17/06460-4)