Life cycle and reproductive patterns of Triatoma rubrofasciata (De Geer, 1773) (Hemiptera: Reduviidae), under laboratory conditions

RESUMO

The life cycle and reproductive patterns of Triatoma rubrofasciata were studied along laboratory conditions for the establishment of a prolific colony. The insects were divided into four groups: two of them were maintened at room temperature (20.5ºC to 33ºC and 85 per cent ñ 5 per cent of relative humidity), the other two in a climatic chamber (CC) (temperature: 29ºC, humidity: 80 per cent ñ 5 per cent). The groups were fed weekly or fortnighly on Swiss mice. The females from the group kept in the CC and fed weekly had longer life span, as well as a higher number of eggs, fertile eggs and hatching; the group kept in the CC and fed fortnighly had a shorter life span of the 1st, 2nd and 3rd instars and a lower mortality rate for all instars. It was concluded that a constant high temperature (CC at 29ºC) is the most suitable condition for the maintenance of a colony of T. rubrofasciata regardless of the interval between repasts.