Triatoma costalimai (Hemiptera: Reduviidae) in and Around Houses of Tocantins State, Brazil, 2005–2014

Triatoma costalimai Verano & Galvão, a little-known vector of Trypanosoma cruzi Chagas, occupies rocky environments in the Brazilian Cerrado and occasionally infests man-made habitats. Entomological surveillance records show that T. costalimai occurs fairly often inside and around houses in south-eastern Tocantins, Brazil, with 859 specimens reported in 2005-2014. Most adults were caught indoors, and breeding colonies were found inside and around houses. Trypanosoma cruzi was detected in 13.7% of 839 bugs. These data suggest that T. costalimai can contribute to T. cruzi transmission in human environments, underscoring the need for long-term entomological-epidemiological surveillance wherever native Chagas disease vectors occur.