Biology of the introduced species Triatoma lecticularia (Hemiptera: Reduviidae) to northwestern Mexico, under laboratory conditions

The first record of Triatoma lecticularia out of its reported distribution area together with the brief description of the said area is provided in this paper. In addition, some biological parameters related to hatching of eggs, life cycle and feeding and defecation behaviors for each instar of one population of T. lecticularia from its previously reported distribution area (PR) and for each instar of that introduced recently found population (IS) of this species were evaluated and compared. Twenty-eight specimens were collected from IS, mostly (64.29%) from peridomestic areas (mainly chicken coops). No significant (p > 0.05) differences were recorded between the two studied cohorts in their average time to hatch, which was close to 19 days. The median egg-to-adult development time, the number of blood meals at each nymphal, the instar mortality rates and median time-lapse for beginning of feeding were significantly (p < 0.05) shorter for the IS cohort. Median feeding time was higher in PR. Defecation delay was shorter than 10 min in both studied cohorts. Given these results, the introduced recently found population of T. lecticularia could be considered an important potential vector of Trypanosoma cruzi to human populations and could replace main triatomine species on its new distribution area.