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Cleptohaematophagy of the Triatomine bug Belminus herreri
C M Sandoval1, M I Joya, R Gutierez
1Centro de Investigaciones en Enfermedades Tropicales (CINTROP), Universidad Industrial de Santander, Bucaramanga, Colombia.
Abstract:
The Triatomine bug Belminus herreri, previously known only from Panama, is reported for the first time from Colombia. Three adult B. herreri were collected from a chicken coop and a viable egg was found on a Bactris palm at Carmen municipality in humid forest zone at 680 m altitude. From 44 eggs produced, five progeny were reared to adulthood. During early instars they were unable to take bloodmeals directly from vertebrate hosts, but they fed successfully by cleptohaematophagy on blood from replete Rhodnius prolixus.
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