Comparative study of the stridulatory groove in species of Triatoma (Hemiptera: Reduviidae) from Mexico

The stridulation in the subfamily Triatominae has been identified as a means of communication between species, produced by the friction of the proboscis on the prosternal stridulatory groove. Despite its biological significance, this phenomenon remains understudied, with the signal's production seemingly contingent upon the morphology of the stridulatory groove. In this study, we examined the morphology of stridulatory grooves in females and males of five species and two subspecies of Mexican triatomines using morphometric and scanning electron microscopical analysis. Our findings reveal that all analyzed species exhibit triangular-shaped stridulatory grooves with parallel ridges covering the entire groove, bordered on each side, and covered with setae. Surprisingly, we observed noticeable differences in the number of ridges and inter-ridge distance between the species