Inespecificidade parasitária em Argas (Persicargas) miniatus Koch, 1844 (Acari: Argasidae) / Nonspecificity of parasitism on Argas (Persicargas) miniatus Koch, 1844 (Acari: Argasidae)

Foram coletados 665 espécimes de Argas miniatus em dois municípios dos estados da Bahia e Minas Gerais. Destes, 596 (89,6 por cento) tinham se alimentado, sendo que 489 (82 por cento) reagiram para um único tipo de sangue, distribuídos entre aves (46,8 por cento), roedores (30,9 por cento), gambás (14,5 por cento), bovinos (4,3 por cento) e eqüinos (3,5 por cento). Nesse tipo de reação, o sangue de mamíferos foi detectado em 53,2 por cento (260/489) dos argasídios. As reações múltiplas foram observadas em 107 (17,9 por cento) carrapatos, com sangue de aves presente em 84,1 por cento (90/107), enquanto, o sangue de mamíferos reagiu em 100 por cento (107/107). Os resultados apontam para a inespecificidade parasitária

Six hundred and sixty-five specimens of Argas miniatus were collected in two municipalities of Bahia and Minas Gerais states, Brazil. Five hundred and ninety-six (89.6 percent) of them had fed and 489 (82 percent) of them reacted to only one type of blood, including birds (46.8 percent), rodents (30.9 percent), opossuns (14.5 percent), bovines (4.3 percent) and horses (3.5 percent). In that reaction, the type of mammal blood was detected in 53.2 percent (260/489) of the ticks. Multiple reactions were observed in 107 (17.9 percent) ticks, with blood of birds present in 84.1 percent (90/107), while the blood of mammals was detected in 100 percent (107/107). The results point for the nonspecificity of parasitism

Observations on the domestic ecology of Rhodnius ecuadoriensis (Triatominae)

Rhodnius ecuadoriensis infests peridomiciles and colonises houses in rural southern Ecuador. Six out of 84 dwellings (7 percent) surveyed in a rural village were infested (78 bugs/infested domicile; 279 bugs were collected in a single dwelling). Precipitin tests revealed R. ecuadoriensis fed on birds (65 percent), rodents (31 percent), marsupials (8 percent), and humans (15 percent) - mixed bloodmeals detected in 37.5 percent of individual samples. Trypanosoma cruzi from opossums and rodents may thus be introduced into the domestic cycle. Wasp parasitoidism was detected in 6.5 percent of 995 R. ecuadoriensis eggs (only in peridomestic habitats). Control strategies should integrate insecticide spraying (indoors and peridomestic), better management of poultry, and housing improvements. A possible inefficacy of Malathion is reported