First report of Panstrongylus lignarius (Walker, 1873) (Hemiptera: Reduviidae: Triatominae) in the State of Acre, Brazil

Abstract

INTRODUCTION:   This communication reports the first occurrence of Panstrongylus lignarius in the State of Acre, Brazil.

METHODS:  A specimen of P. lignarius was collected from a residence in a rural area of the municipality of Rio Branco, Acre, Western Amazon.

RESULTS:   This new report of P. lignarius extends the distribution of this species to eight Brazilian states, and also increases the number of species of Triatominae described from the state of Acre from nine to ten.

CONCLUSIONS:   The occurrence of P. lignarius deserves attention, since this species has the potential for domiciliation and transmitting Trypanosoma cruzi.

Keywords: Triatominae; Panstrongylus; Western Amazon

The subfamily Triatominae currently comprises 153 species (151 recent and 2 fossil species)^1,2, with Panstrongylus being the third most abundant triatomine genus, with 15 species described so far³. The insects in this genus have wide distributions in Central and South America, where they have several different habitats and behaviors, including some specimens having reportedly been found in human dwellings⁴.

The occurrence of the species Panstrongylus lignarius (Walker, 1873) has only been recorded in South America in the following countries: Ecuador, Peru, Guyana, French Guiana, Suriname, Venezuela, and Brazil⁵. In Brazil, P. lignarius has already been described from the states of Amazonas, Maranhão, Pará, Tocantins^5,6, Mato Grosso⁴, Amapá⁷, and Rondônia⁸, all of which belong to the Legal Amazon region. This distribution is expanded by the present study, which describes the first report of the occurrence of P. lignarius in the state of Acre, Brazil.

In October 2017, four triatomines were collected in a dwelling in a rural area of ​​the municipality of Rio Branco, Acre, Brazil (Latitude 10°01'29''S, Longitude 67°30'44''W), three of which were Rhodnius robustus Larrousse, 1927, and one of which was P. lignarius.

The triatomines were collected by the residents of the dwelling themselves in a room of the residence, which presents mixed structural characteristics in that it is constructed from wood (Figure 1A) and masonry “still without plaster” (Figure 1B). In the room, the walls are timbered and have cracks (Figure 1C), representing suitable refuges for these insects. Around the house, stacked bricks (Figure 1D) and tiles (Figure 1E) were observed, in addition to an abandoned shack (Figure 1F). The residence is located near a pasture and a small fragment of secondary forest (Figure 1G) located approximately 150 m away from the house. Attalea sp. palms also occur in its vicinity (Figure 1H). A new survey was carried out in the residence, but no other triatomines were found.

FIGURE 1:
(A) Residence where the triatomine specimens were captured. (B) External part of the masonry of the residence, without plaster. (C) Interior of the room with timber-framed walls with cracks. (D) Bricks stowed outside the residence. (E) Stacked tiles. (F) Abandoned shack. (G) Pasture environment and small fragment of secondary forest near the residence. (H) Attalea sp. palm tree near the residence.

The triatomines were sent to the Laboratory of Tropical Medicine (LABMEDT) at the Federal University of Acre (UFAC), where the identification of the species was carried out based on external morphological characteristics, as described by Galvão⁵ and Lent & Wygodzinsky⁹. When the specimen of P. lignarius arrived at LABMEDT, it was already dead and dried out, and so it was not feasible to test it for the presence of trypanosomatids. Therefore, this is the first and only individual of this species found until the present moment in the state of Acre.

P. lignarius (Figure 2) shows generally light brown to yellowish dorsal and dark brown or black ventral coloration^8,9, and has a partially black scutellum with a longitudinal mid-yellow stripe, a posterior scutellum process with a slight basal hump, and a pronotum with sublateral and tibial tubercles with small sub-basal yellow spots⁴.

FIGURE 2:
Panstrongylus lignarius. (A) Dorsal view. (B) Ventral view.

In Peru, the country neighboring the state of Acre, a morphotype of P. herreri Wygodzinsky, 1948 (a likely synonym of P. lignarius, as suggested by Marcilla et al.¹⁰) is found, which is the species with the highest registered domiciliary there and is thus considered the species of the second most epidemiological importance for T. cruzi transmission^4,8.

This new report of P. lignarius extends the geographic distribution of this species to eight Brazilian states (Figure 3), while also increasing the number of triatomine species described from the state of Acre from nine¹¹ to ten, comprising the following: five species of the genus Rhodnius (R. robustus, R. pictipes Stal 1872, R. montenegrensis Rosa et al. 2012, R. stali Lent, Jurberg & Galvão, 1993, and R. neglectus Lent, 1954^12,13), one of the genus Eratyrus (E. mucronatus Stal, 1859¹⁴), one of the genus Triatoma (T. sordida Stål, 1859¹⁵), and now three of the genus Panstrongylus (P. geniculatus Latreille, 1811⁶, P. megistus Burmeister, 1835¹¹, and P. lignarius).

FIGURE 3:
Geographic distribution of the species P. lignarius in South America, and location of the new report of this species in this study.

Ethical considerations

The specimens were collected with permission from the Brazilian Institute of Environment and Renewable Natural Resources [Instituto Brasileiro do Meio Ambiente e dos Recursos Naturais Renováveis (IBAMA)], under permanent license No. 52260-1.

Acknowledgments

Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado do Acre (FAPAC). Pró-Reitoria de Pesquisa e Pós-Graduação da Universidade Federal do Acre (UFAC). Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPQ).

REFERENCES

• ¹ Dorn PL, Justi SA, Dale C, Stevens L, Galvão C, Cordon RL, et al. Description of Triatoma mopan sp. n. from a cave in Belize (Hemiptera, Reduviidae, Triatominae). ZooKeys. 2018;775:69-95.
• ² Oliveira J, Ayala JM, Justi S, Rosa JA, Galvao C. Description of a new species of Nesotriatoma Usinger, 1944 from Cuba and revalidation of synonymy between Nesotriatoma bruneri (Usinger, 1944) and N. flavida (Usinger, 1944) (Hemiptera, Reduviidae, Triatominae). J Vector Ecol. 2018:43(1):148-57.
• ³ Oliveira J, Alevi KCC. Taxonomic status of Panstrongylus herreri Wygodzinsky, 1948 and the number of Chagas disease vectors. Rev Soc Bras Med Trop. 2017:50(3):434-5.
• ⁴ Paula AM, Castrillon MI, Maciel GBML, Galvão C. Registro de ocorrência de Panstrongylus lignarius (Walker, 1837) (Hemiptera: Reduviidae: Triatominae) no Estado de Mato Grosso, Brasil. Acta Amaz. 2013;43(1):117-9.
• ⁵ Galvão C. Vetores da doença de chagas no Brasil. Curitiba: Sociedade Brasileira de Zoologia; 2014.
• ⁶ Gurgel-Gonçalves R, Galvão C, Costa J, Peterson AT. Geographic distribution of Chagas disease vectors in Brazil based on ecological niche modeling. J Trop Med. 2012;1-15.
• ⁷ Ferreira RMA, Souto RNP. Ocorrência de Triatomineos (Reduviidae: Triatominae) no estado do Amapá, Brasil. Bio Amaz. 2013;3(1):144-6.
• ⁸ Terassini FA, Stefanello C, Camargo LMA, Meneguetti DUO. First report of Panstrongylus lignarius, Walker, 1873 (Hemiptera, Reduviidae, Triatominae), in the State of Rondônia, Brazil. Rev Soc Bras Med Trop . 2017;50(4):547-9.
• ⁹ Lent H, Wygodzinsky P. Revision of the Triatominae (Hemiptera, Reduviidae), and their significance as vectors of Chagas’ disease. Bull Am Mus Nat Hist. 1979; 163(3):127-520.
• ¹⁰ Marcilla A, Bargues MD, Abad-Franch F, Panzera F, Carcavallo RU, Noireau F, et al. Nuclear rDNA ITS-2 sequences reveal polyphyly of Panstrongylus species (Hemiptera: Reduviidae: Triatominae), vectors of Trypanosoma cruzi Infect Genet Evol. 2002:1(3):225-35.
• ¹¹ Castro MALR, Castro GVS, Souza JL, Souza CR, Ramos LJ, Oliveira J, et al. First report of Panstrongylus megistus (Hemiptera, Reduviidae, Triatominae) in the State of Acre and Rondônia, Amazon, Brazil. Acta Trop. 2018;182: 158-160.
• ¹² Meneguetti DUO, Castro GVS, Castro MALR, Souza JL, Oliveira J, Rosa JA, et al. First report of Rhodnius stali (Hemiptera, Reduviidae, Triatominae) in the State of Acre and in the Brazilian Amazon. Rev Soc Bras Med Trop . 2016;49(3):365-8.
• ¹³ Ramos LJ, Castro GVS, Souza JL, Oliveira J, Rosa JA, Camargo LMA, et al. First report of Rhodnius neglectus, Lent, 1954 (Hemiptera, Reduviidae, Triatominae) in the State of Acre and in the Brazilian western Amazon. Rev Soc Bras Med Trop . 2018; 51(2):212-4.
• ¹⁴ Obara MT, Cardoso AS, Pinto MCG, Souza CR, Silva RA, Gurgel-Gonçalves R. Eratyrus mucronatus Stål, 1859 (Hemiptera: Reduviidae: Triatominae): First report in the State of Acre, Brazil, and updated geographic distribution in South America. Check List. 2013;9(4):851-4.
• ¹⁵ Ramos LJ, Souza JL, Souza CR, Oliveira J, Rosa JA, Camargo LMA, et al. First report of Triatoma sordida, Stål, 1859 (Hemiptera, Reduviidae, Triatominae) in the State of Acre and in the Brazilian western Amazon. Rev Soc Bras Med Trop . 2018; 51(1):77-79.

• Financial Support: Programa Pesquisa Para o SUS: Gestão Compartilhada em Saúde (PPSUS) 001/2015 e 002/2016 - Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado do Acre (FAPAC). Chamada Universal MCTI/CNPQ Nº 01/2016.

Publication Dates

• Publication in this collection
  18 Mar 2019
• Date of issue
  2019

History

• Received
  24 July 2018
• Accepted
  31 Aug 2018