The number of families of Triatoma dimidiata in a Guatemalan house.

Triatoma dimidiata is an important vector of Chagas disease in Guatemala. To help understand the biology and population dynamics of the insect, we estimated the number of full sibling families living in one house. Forty one families with an average size of 2.

A preliminary assessment of genetic differentiation of Triatoma dimidiata (Hemiptera: Reduviidae) in Guatemala by random amplification of polymorphic DNA-polymerase chain reaction.

The population genetics of Triatoma dimidiata (Latreille, 1811) from five different provinces in Guatemala, including three sylvan and three domestic populations, was investigated by random amplification of polymorphic DNA-polymerase chain reaction. There is a high degree of genetic variation in all of the T. dimidiata populations as evidenced by high levels of average expected heterozygosity and polymorphism.