Rhodnius prolixus

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Rhodnius prolixus
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Arthropoda
Class: Insecta
Order: Hemiptera
Suborder: Heteroptera
Family: Reduviidae
Genus: Rhodnius
Species:
R. prolixus
Binomial name
Rhodnius prolixus
Stål, 1859

Rhodnius prolixus is the principal

reptiles
.

The insect was used by Sir

opossums.[1]

Rhodnius prolixus is also known as the kissing bug (like other triatomine bugs) because it tends to feed on the area around victims' mouths.[2]

History

Rhodnius prolixus established itself throughout Central America after specimens that originated in Venezuela accidentally escaped from a San Salvadoran research laboratory in 1915. It colonized houses and invaded neighboring countries, probably through accidental carriage by travelers.[3]

Life cycle

The insect has five larval stages, with a moult between each. Each larval stage consumes a single large meal of blood, which triggers the moulting process, 12–15 days later. Wigglesworth demonstrated that the moult is started by

corpora allata secrete the juvenile hormone which prevents the premature development into an adult. The removal of the head during any larval stage causes early development into an adult, whereas the implantation of a juvenile head during the fifth larval stage results in a giant sixth stage larva.[5]

The adult secretes compounds into the wound during feeding, including lipocalins. These lipocalins were demonstrated to serve various functions including sequestering amines – especially serotonin – to prevent vasoconstriction (and possibly coagulation) in the host by Andersen et al. 2003.[6] The male reproductive system of R. prolixus contains four accessory glands, three which are responsible for producing the

spermathecae and one which is responsible for the movement of spermatozoa from the spermatophore into the female. Once mating occurs, the sperm move through the reproductive system of the female through peristatic waves. The female then stores the sperm until fertilization.[7]

As disease vector

Further information: Chagas disease

Chagas disease is caused by the parasitic protozoan Trypanosoma cruzi. Infection with Chagas disease occurs after Rhodnius releases protozoans in its feces immediately following a blood meal. The parasite enters the victim through the bite wound after the human host scratches the bite. Infection may also occur via blood transfusion and ingestion of food contaminated with kissing bug feces.[citation needed]

Rhodnius prolixus – range of nymph stages through to adult

See also

References

  1. PMID 20428170
    .
  2. ^ "Basic Kissing Bugs Facts | Department of Neuroscience". Archived from the original on 2015-07-12. Retrieved 2015-07-12.
  3. ^ C. J .Schofield (2000). "Challenges of Chagas disease vector control in Central America: position paper". World Health Organization.
  4. ^ Wigglesworth, V.B. (1934). "The physiology of ecdysis in Rhodnius prolixus (Hemiptera). II Factors controlling moulting and metamorphosis". Q. J. Microsc. Sci. 77: 191–223.
  5. ^ J. A. V. Butler (1959). Inside the Living Cell. George Allen and Unwin. p. 79.
  6. PMID 19640225
    .
  7. ISSN 0022-0949
    . Retrieved 26 March 2022.

Further reading

External links
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