Environmental change (ie, urbanization) impacts species in contrasting ways, with some
species experiencing benefits given their way of life (ie, blood-sucking insects). How these …

Background Triatomine bugs, the vectors of Chagas disease, associate with vertebrate hosts
in highly diverse ecotopes. It has been proposed that occupation of new microhabitats may …

Background Clear examples of ecological speciation exist, often involving divergence in
trophic morphology. However, substantial variation also exists in how far the ecological …

Fluctuating asymmetry (FA), a slight and random departure from bilateral symmetry that is
normally distributed around a 0 mean, has been widely used to infer developmental …

Triatomines are insect vectors of Trypanosoma cruzi¸ the etiological agent of Chagas
disease. Several species belonging to the genus Rhodnius (Hemiptera: Reduviidae) have …

Small ectotherms, such as insects, with high surface area-to-volume ratios are usually at risk
of dehydration in arid environments. We hypothesize that desiccation tolerance in insects …

Background Triatoma brasiliensis, a triatomine-bug vector of Chagas disease, evolved in the
semiarid Caatinga, where it occupies rocky outcrops, shrubby cacti, and human dwellings …

Accurate prediction of vectors dispersal, as well as identification of adaptations that allow
blood-feeding vectors to thrive in built environments, are a basis for effective disease control …

Background Triatoma garciabesi and T. guasayana are considered secondary vectors of
Trypanosoma cruzi and frequently invade rural houses in central Argentina. Wing and head …

Wing morphology may affect the foraging efficiency of polyphagous insects via effects on
their flight ability. Variations in wing morphology may be triggered by host plant quality, while …