ECOTOPES, NATURAL INFECTION AND TROPHIC RESOURCES OF TRIATOMA-BRASILIENSIS (HEMIPTERA, REDUVIIDAE, TRIATOMINAE)

Triatoma brasiliensis is considered as one of the most important Chaga s disease vectors in the northeastern Brazil. This species presents ch romatic variations which led to descriptions of subspecies, synonymize d by Lent and Wygodzinsky (1979). In order to broaden bionomic knowled ge of these distinct colour patterns of T. brasiliensis, captures were performed at different sites, where the chromatic patterns were descr ibed: Caico, Rio Grande do Norte (T. brasiliensis brasiliensis Neiva, 1911), it will be called the ''brasiliensis population''; Espinosa, Mi nas Gerais (T. brasiliensis melanica Neiva & Lent 1941), the ''melanic a population'' and Petrolina, Pernambuco (T. brasiliensis macromelasom a, Galvao 1956), the ''macromelasoma population''. A fourth chromatic pattern was collected in Juazeiro, Bahia the darker one in overall cut icle coloration, the ''Juazeiro population''. At the sites of Caico, P etrolina and Juazeiro, specimens were captured in peridomiciliar ecoto pes and in wilderness. In Espinosa the specimens were collected only i n wilderness, even though sever-al exhaustive captures have been perfo rmed in peridomicile at different sites of this municipality. A total of 298 specimens were captured The average register ed infection rate was 15% for ''brasiliensis population'' and of 6.6% for ''melanica pop ulation''. Specimens of ''macromelasoma'' and of ''Juazeiro population s'' did not present natural infection. Concerning trophic resources, e valuated by the precipitin test, feeding eclecticism for the different colour patterns studied was observed, with dominance of goat blood in household surroundings as well as in wilderness.