| Rhodnius prolixus | |
|---|---|
| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Arthropoda |
| Class: | Insecta |
| Order: | Hemiptera |
| Family: | Reduviidae |
| Subfamily: | Triatominae |
| Genus: | Rhodnius |
| Species: | R. prolixus |
| Binomial name | |
| Rhodnius prolixus Stål, 1859 |
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Rhodnius prolixus is the second most important triatomine vector of the Chagas parasite due to its efficient adaptation to the human domicile in northern South America, where sylvatic populations also exist, and in Central America where it is exclusively domestic. It has a wide range of ecotopes, mainly savanna and foothills (500 to 1500 m above sea level) at different ranges of humidity between 16 and 28°C. Sylvatic R. prolixus, as virtually all Rhodnius spp., is primarily associated with palm tree habitats, and has a wide range of hosts, including birds, rodents, marsupials, sloths and reptiles.
The insect was used by Sir Vincent Wigglesworth for the detection of insect hormones. It has been implicated in the transmission of transposons between it and some of its vertebrate hosts, squirrel monkeys and oppossums.[1]
Rhodnius prolixus is also known as the kissing bug because it feeds on people's faces.
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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 scratching the bite. Infection may also occur via blood transfusion and ingestion of food contaminated with kissing bug feces.
William C Marquardt et al (2004), Chapter 5: Kissing Bugs and Bedbugs the Heteroptera, Biology of Disease Vectors (2nd edition), Academic Press, ISBN 978-0-12-473276-6