science

Triatoma indictiva

Triatoma indictiva is a science topic covered in the lgStudy science library. This page brings together a partial reference excerpt, illustrations, worked examples, real-world applications and a short study plan, so you can understand Triatoma indictiva rather than just read about it. In short: Triatoma indictiva is an arthropod in the assassin bug family of Reduviidae, and is an important vector of Trypanosoma cruzi. T. cruzi is the protozoan that causes Chagas Disease, which affects approximately eight million people a year in the western hemisphere alone.

Key takeaways

Triatoma indictiva belongs to science; place it in that map before memorising details.
Learn the definition first, then one example that makes the definition concrete.
Connect Triatoma indictiva to a quantity you can measure, compute or draw — that is where exam questions come from.
Reproduce the core statement of Triatoma indictiva from memory before moving on to harder problems.

Reference excerpt

Triatoma indictiva is an arthropod in the assassin bug family of Reduviidae, and is an important vector of Trypanosoma cruzi. T. cruzi is the protozoan that causes Chagas Disease, which affects approximately eight million people a year in the western hemisphere alone. Triatoma indictiva is found in Mexico and throughout the southern United States, including Arizona and Texas.

Physical characteristics and development Triatoma indictiva is between 20 and 30 millimetres (0.79 and 1.18 in) long when fully developed and can be identified taxonomically by their pear shape, tapered beak, observing the length of the scape and the red vestiges on its side. T. inductiva are paurometabolous and undergo 3 life stages including: egg, nymph and adult. The head and thorax of T. inductiva are black except for the red markings of its side and the slightly lighter colored third section of the leg. T. indictiva has a narrow head and tri-segmented antennae, with black forewings that cover the abdomen.

Habitat Triatoma indictiva are generally nidicolous (born immature) and are found in wooded areas or birds nests, but also can be found inside a house or other man-made structures. T. indictiva has been reported in Mexico, Arizona, and Texas. It is believed that T. indictiva is more commonly found in dwellings in Mexico and poorer regions, because it is easier for a colony to form in an open residence, bringing them more frequently into contact with people. Due to the fact that T. indictiva is established throughout much of Mexico, especially in areas with poor economic conditions, they are difficult to manage.

Feeding Triatoma indictiva are hematophagous (blood-sucking) and mainly feed on mammals, including humans, but they also feed on birds and reptiles. In their nymphal stages, T. indictiva can easily switch between vertebrate and invertebrate hosts, but the reasons that cause the switch is currently unknown. Adult T. indictiva, when feeding on humans bite around the lips or face, which is how the term "kissing bug" was formed. This is dangerous because, T. indictiva occasionally defecate during or after a blood meal, which can leave behind fecal matter containing T. cruzi.

Vector of Chagas disease T. indictiva is one of the main vectors of T. cruzi, the hemoflagellate protozoan that causes Chagas disease. T. cruzi is transmitted through infectious feces left by T. indictiva after a blood meal. T. cruzi then usually enters the vertebrate by contaminating the bite site or through a nearby mucous membrane. Enzootic infection is prevalent across the southern United States, where there are 24 reservoir species and triatomine vectors, including T. indictiva reported in 28 states. Only 7 autochthonous human cases of Chagas disease have been reported in the U.S. from 1955-2006, which is considerably lower than the rates in Central and South America. Fewer locally-acquired human Chagas disease cases in the U.S. is presumably due to better awareness and better economic conditions keeping the vectors outside the home. Triatoma spp. in the U.S., including T. indictiva, have slower times for defecation following a blood meal compared to South American species, which could be an additional reason reducing the risk of acquiring Chagas disease in the U.S.

References

Further reading (WHO) World Health Organization. 2008. The global burden of disease: 2004 update. World Health Organization, Geneva, Switzerland. "ITIS Standard Report." ITIS Standard Report. N.p., 04 Nov. 2013. Web. 04 Nov. 2013. +Swanson, D. R. 2011. New state records and distributional notes for some assassin bugs of the continental United States (Heteroptera: Reduviidae). The Great Lakes Entomologist 44(3–4): 117–138. Henry, Thomas J., and Richard C. Froeschner. Catalog of the Heteroptera, or True Bugs, of Canada and the Continental United States. Leiden: E.J. Brill, 1988. Print. The Common Insects of North America Lester A. Swan, Charles S. Papp. 1972. Harper & Row. Rassi, A., Jr., A. Rassi, and J. A. Marin-Neto. 2010. Chagas disease. Lancet 375: 1388–1402. CrossRef, PubMed Coin, Patrick. "Genus Triatoma - Bloodsucking Conenoses." Welcome to BugGuide.Net! - BugGuide.Net. Iowa State University Entomology, 11 Dec. 2010. Web. 04 Nov. 2013. Identification of Bloodmeal Sources and Trypanosoma cruzi Infection in Triatomine Bugs (Hemiptera: Reduviidae) From Residential Settings in Texas, the United States Sonia A. Kjos Journal of Medical Entomology (2013), 50(5):1126 Coura, J. R., and J. C. Dias. 2009. Epidemiology, control and surveillance of Chagas disease: 100 years after its discovery. Mem. Inst. Oswaldo Cruz 104 (Suppl. 1): 31–40. PubMed Bern, C., S. P. Montgomery, L. Katz, S. Caglioti, and S. L. Strainer. 2008. Chagas disease and the US blood supply. Curr. Opin. Infect. Dis. 21: 476–482. CrossRef, PubMed

External links "Triatoma indictiva". The Encyclopedia of Life. ADW "Triatoma indictiva". Integrated Taxonomic Information System. Retrieved 25 November 2013.

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with Triatoma indictiva

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what Triatoma indictiva claims or describes in one sentence, then invent the smallest concrete situation in which that sentence is true. In science, the smallest case is usually a single object, a single equation or a single measurement. Check that every symbol or term in your sentence has a meaning in that case.

Example 2 — changing one variable

Take the situation from Example 1 and change exactly one quantity: double it, halve it, or set it to zero. Predict what should happen to Triatoma indictiva before you calculate. Comparing your prediction with the result is the fastest way to find out whether you understand the idea or only the words.

Example 3 — an exam-style question

Typical questions about Triatoma indictiva ask you to (a) state it precisely, (b) apply it to given data, and (c) explain a limitation. Practise writing all three answers in under five minutes; the third part is what separates a full-mark answer from an average one.

Applications of Triatoma indictiva

In research: Triatoma indictiva appears in science research whenever the underlying quantities have to be modelled precisely. Papers usually cite it as a starting assumption and then explore where it breaks down.
In technology and industry: Engineering practice reuses Triatoma indictiva in design rules, simulations and safety margins. Knowing the idea lets you read a specification sheet and understand why the numbers look the way they do.
In the classroom: Triatoma indictiva is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics Hematophages, Hemiptera of North America, Insect vectors of human pathogens, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for Triatoma indictiva outside the textbook — in sport, cooking, traffic, electronics or the sky above you. An example you found yourself is remembered far longer than one you were given.

Ask Teacher Smith questions about this articleOpens your AI tutor with a question about “Triatoma indictiva” →

Affiliate

Preply — study more efficiently by working with a personal tutor. 50% off.

How to study Triatoma indictiva in 20 minutes

Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
Close the page and write down what Triatoma indictiva means in your own words.
Compare your version with the excerpt and mark what you missed.
Work through the three examples above with pen and paper.
Explain Triatoma indictiva out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

What is Triatoma indictiva in simple terms?

Why does Triatoma indictiva matter?

Because it connects several science ideas at once: it gives you a definition you can apply, a quantity you can calculate, and a way to check whether a result is plausible.

How should I study Triatoma indictiva?

Read the excerpt, restate it from memory, then work through the examples and applications listed on this page. The five-step study plan above takes about twenty minutes.

What does this page cover?

It gives you a compact reference excerpt plus original lgStudy explanations, examples, applications and study material on Triatoma indictiva.