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Aedes (Stegomyia) aegypti (L.) (Diptera: Culicidae) is the vector of multiple arboviruses. To evaluate the association between environmental factors and the oviposition activity of Ae. aegypti in Argentina, data on the presence and abundance of eggs were collected using ovitraps, between September of 2018 and May of 2019, in the cities of Villa María, Río Cuarto and Salsipuedes (Córdoba province, Argentina). We analysed the relationships between oviposition and five environmental factors: Temperature, precipitation, vegetation cover, human population density and distance to sites with a potential high density of larval habitats, like cemeteries and trash dumps. Environmental factors' data were collected using satellite image products. The oviposition activity was randomly distributed in three cities. Using generalized linear mixed models, we show that the house where each ovitrap was placed was a source of variability in oviposition, suggesting the relevance of microsite factors and the importance of domestic control actions. Ae. aegypti oviposition was positively correlated with night‐time temperature of the previous 3 weeks, and in a context‐dependent manner, it was positively correlated with human population density, vegetation cover and precipitation. The consistency and magnitude of these relationships varied between cities, indicating that oviposition is related to a complex system of environmental variables. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Most predator and parasitoid functional response studies have been carried out by using experimental designs where insects are confined to an arena and subsequently exposed to different host densities, which are evaluated individually. In the case of a parasitoid that looks for profitable patches, this design forces it to use the single host density patch available, and therefore the possibility of selection by the parasitoid is not considered at all. A selective functional response, in which the host is distributed in discrete patches at different densities, could be a solution to avoid such a limitation. However, the disadvantage of this design is that it does not meet the independence assumption required to perform a parametric statistical analysis. Nevertheless, the use of nonparametric analyses such as GAM and GAMM models allows the performance of this kind of design, making the relationship between the response and the explanatory variable more flexible, looking for general behavioral patterns. The behavior of the fruit fly parasitoid Diachasmimorpha longicaudata (Ashmead) in a patched condition was assessed in order to demonstrate that nonparametric analyses are useful tools when studying the selective functional response. Results showed that the functional response changed from a "sig-moid curve" to a "bell-shape curve" when the parasitoid had the chance to choose freely among different host densities. The female parasitoid distributed their ovarian load among the eight host densities. The present study suggests that the bell-shape curve displays a general behavior pattern of the parasitoid population. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Triatomines (Hemiptera, Reduviidae) are bloodsucking insects involved in the transmission of Trypanosoma cruzi, the causative agent of Chagas disease, an important public health problem in Latin America. The triatomine species found in sylvatic habitats generally play a limited epidemiological role compared to domestic species, but they may act as a reinfestation source of dwellings after insecticide spraying and have to be carefully considered in control strategies of Chagas disease transmission. The objectives of this work were to carry out a survey of the sylvatic triatomine species colonizing Furnariidae nests in a typical area of the Chaco region of Argentina during the winter and to study the parasites and natural enemies associated with the collected triatomines. Sixty-three triatomine specimens were collected from Furnariidae nests (Coryphistera alaudina and Phacellodomus sibilatrix) randomly selected within the study area. Fifty-four were identified as Psammolestes coreodes, seven as Triatoma platensis, and two as Triatoma infestans. Specimens of T. infestans and T. platensis were found in one nest. The first finding of instar nymphs of T. infestans x T. platensis in a sylvatic habitat is reported. For the first time, sylvatic collected specimens of T. platensis were found infected by T. cruzi. Triatoma virus was found in one Ps. coreodes specimen. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Interspecific competition between two species of triatomine bugs (Hemiptera: Reduviidae), vectors of Chagas disease, was assessed for 16 months through comparative fecundity and mortality of experimental populations in chicken nests, maintained indoors with ambient conditions.Triatoma sordida(Stål), the secondary vector in north-eastern Argentina, was compared withTriatoma infestans(Klug) the more widespread domestic vector in the southern cone of South America. Both species populations originated from females collected in 1995 from the community of Empedrado, Corrientes, Argentina. Three population units were monitored:T. infestansalone,T. sordidaalone and both species together in equal proportions. Each population started with six male and six female adults, 116 eggs, and nymphal instars I to V numbering 82, 48, 16, 11 and 19, respectively. Numbers and weight of individual bugs were recorded monthly (August 1995 to December 1996). The pure populations ofT. infestansandT. sordidashowed temporal changes in abundance, rising in summer and falling in winter, similar to the typical trends under normal field conditions. In the mixed population, however,T. sordidafell to extinction after 6 months, whereasT. infestansreached similar abundance to the pure (control) population. For each nymphal instar ofT. sordida, the mean body weight was significantly less and mortality rate was higher in the mixed population compared to the pure population, but there were no significant differences of adult longevity or fecundity between the pure and mixed populations ofT. sordida. The apparent competitive displacement ofT. sordidabyT. infestanswas attributed to the latter species having better ability to obtain bloodmeals. This might explain the rarity of mixed populations where these two species occur in sympatry. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

ABSTRACT. Using experimental chicken houses at a site in central Argentina where the bug Triatoma infestans (Klug) is endemic, nine populations of this vector of Chagas disease were monitored during a 34-month period. Bug populations with four chickens as hosts were consistently larger than those with two chickens as hosts. Age structure of the bug population followed a similar pattern irrespective of the initial age structure. Egg to adult mortality was consistently around 98.5% and there was no consistent evidence for density-dependent mortality. There was some evidence for density dependence in fecundity and recruitment rates, but these were heavily constrained by low temperatures during the winter months. Nymphal development rates correlated most strongly with mean minimum temperatures rather than with mean maximum temperatures. We conclude that vector control using insecticides against this species would be most effective at the onset of winter, when recovery of any surviving populations would be inhibited by low temperatures. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]