Flight dispersal of the Chagas disease vectors Triatoma brasiliensis and Triatoma pseudomaculata in northeastern Brazil

The present paper reports for the first time the capture of wild Triatoma brasiliensis and Triatoma pseudomaculata by means of light traps in Brazil. We tested commercially available lighting devices powered by batteries to attract the bugs to a white piece of cloth in the field. Two main findings showed to be significant: first, the results presented here show that light traps can be used for sampling these species in wild environments; second, they reveal that house colonization by triatomines may also happen as a consequence of the arrival of flying sylvatic bugs guided by artificial light sources. In addition, we discuss the effect of some environmental and biological factors on triatomine flight activity modulation.