METRIC DIFFERENCES BETWEEN SILVATIC AND DOMESTIC TRIATOMA-INFESTANS (HETEROPTERA, REDUVIIDAE) IN BOLIVIA

One hundred and fifty-seven specimens of Bolivian Triatoma infestans ( Klug 1834), including 44 from the silvatic focus at Cochabamba (Bolivi a), were compared using morphometric characters of the head capsule. F rom these specimens, 10 silvatic and 28 domestic adults were also comp ared using additional morphometric characters of the membranous part o f the hemelytra. Nonparametric univariate comparisons between specimen s item silvatic and domestic ecotopes indicated tile importance of the postocular region as a possible diagnostic character for nymphs and a dults from the different ecotopes, and they detected wing differences in males. Populations became more distinct entities when head or wing characters were considered jointly in canonical variate analysis. Rega rdless of whether size variation was considered, canonical variate ana lysis generally showed greater significance for wing than fur head fea tures. These morphological differences between silvatic and domestic b ugs, particularly unrelated to size differences, are interpreted to in dicate incipient separation between silvatic and domestic populations that had not been detected by previous isoenzyme analyses, and suggest a reinterpretation of the epidemiological significance of silvatic po pulations of T. infestans in Bolivia.