Table 1.
Nutritional status and blood meal sources of T. dimidiata collected in three rural villages of the Yucatán Peninsula, Mexico, and in the sylvatic ecotopes surrounding these villages
| Villages No. observed/Total no. of bugs (%) |
Sylvatic ecotopes No. observed/Total no. of bugs (%) |
Total No. observed/Total no. of bugs (%) |
|
|---|---|---|---|
| PCR-inhibited bugs | 18/173 (10.4) | 7/75 (9.3) | 25/248 (10.1) |
| Unfed bugs | 86/155 (55.5) | 52/68 (76.5) | 138/223 (61.9) |
| Fed bugs | 69/155 (44.5) | 16/68 (23.5) | 85/223 (38.1) |
| Fed bugs with identified blood meal sources | 54/69 (78.3) | 13/16 (81.3) | 67/85 (78.8) |
| Blood meal sources | |||
| Human (Homo sapiens) | 28/54 (51.9) | 5/13 (38.5) | 33/67 (49.3) |
| Dog (Canis lupus) | 13/54 (24.1) | 2/13 (15.4) | 15/67 (22.4) |
| Cow (Bos sp.) | 6/54 (11.1) | 3/13 (23.1) | 9/67 (13.4) |
| Dove (Zenaida/Columba sp.) | 3/54 (5.6) | 2/13 (15.4) | 5/67 (7.5) |
| Pig (Sus scrofa) | 4/54 (7.4) | nd | 4/67 (6.0) |
| Mouse (Mus musculus) | 4/54 (7.4) | nd | 4/67 (6.0) |
| Cat (Felis catus) | 3/54 (5.6) | nd | 3/67 (4.5) |
| Turkey (Meleagris gallopavo) | 2/54 (3.7) | nd | 2/67 (3.0) |
| Chicken (Gallus gallus) | 1/54 (1.9) | nd | 1/67 (1.5) |
| Bat (Artibeus lituratus) | 1/54 (1.9) | nd | 1/67 (1.5) |
| Peccary (Pecari tajacu) | 1/54 (1.9) | nd | 1/67 (1.5) |
| Greater grison (Galictis vittata) | 1/54 (1.9) | nd | 1/67 (1.5) |
| Squirrel (Sciurus sp.) | nd | 1/13 (7.7) | 1/67 (1.5) |
| Frog (Rana sp.) | nd | 1/13 (7.7) | 1/67 (1.5) |
| Porcupine (Coendou sp.) | nd | 1/13 (7.7) | 1/67 (1.5) |
| Deer (Odocoileus virginianus) | nd | 1/13 (7.7) | 1/67 (1.5) |
Notes: The sums of the percentages of the different blood meal sources are greater than 100 because of multiple blood meal sources detected in various bugs. There was no significant difference in blood meal sources between bugs collected within villages and bugs collected within sylvatic ecotopes (Fisher’s exact test, P > 0.05)
Abbreviations: nd, not detected