P. tertius

Psammolestes tertius (Lent & Jurberg, 1985)

Distribution:

Characteristics:

- Length of male 11.5-12.5mm, female 12.5-13.5mm

- General color light yellowish brown, with scattered dark brown spots.

- Integument slightly rugose.

- Head and thorax yellowish dorsally, irregularly mottled with dark brown;

- Head constricted before neck, in lateral view, and not strongly declivous behind ocelli; head longer than wide at the level of eyes. Anteocular region 2.5 the length of postocular area.

- Long hairs on the second and third rostral segments;

- Anterolateral angles of pronotum not projecting forward to level of ocelli.

- Male genitalia with basal plate struts of medium size, separed, broadly S-shaped.

Biology:

P. tertius is found in nests of birds Furnaridae: Phacellodomus rufifrons rufifrons and Ph. Rufifrons specularis. Also in nests of Anumbius annumdi; ( “João-graveto”; “cochicho”; “titiri”, etc…). Frequently P. tertius is found together with Rhodnius neglectus.

Psammolestes tertius has been found infected naturally and can be infected experimentally by T. cruzi.

Rufous-fronted Thornbird (Phacellodomus rufifrons specularis) - with permission of: antpitta

Firewood-gatherer - Leñatero (Anumbius annumbi) - with permission of: fotosaves

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Cabrera R. 2006. Brief notes on Psammolestes tertius, Bergroth, 1911 (Reduviidae: Hemiptera): a wild triatomine. Anales de la Facultad de Medicina Lima, 67(4): 345-346.

Carcavallo RU, Galindez Giron, I, Jurberg, J & Lent H. 1998. Atlas of Chagas’ disease vectors in the Americas. Vol I, II, III. FioCruz Edition.

Dujardin JP, Schofield CJ & Panzera F. 2000. Les vecteurs de la maladie de Chagas. Recherches taxonomiques, biologiques et génétiques. Académie Royales des Sciences d'Outre-Mer.

Galvão C, Carcavallo R, Da Silva Rocha D & Jurberg J. 2003. A checklist of the current valid species of the subfamily Triatominae Jeannel, 1919 (Hemiptera, Reduviidae) and their geographical distribution, with nomenclatural and taxonomic notes. Zootaxa, 202: 1-36.

Lent H & Wygodzinsky P. 1979. Revision of the Triatominae (Hemiptera, Reduviidae), and their significance as vectors of Chagas disease. Bull. American Mus. Nat. Hist. 163 (Art. 3): 125-520.