The members of the subfamily Triatominae (Heteroptera: Reduviidae) are of particular medical importance in their ability to transmit Trypanosomiasis to humans and animals. There are 17 genera within the Triatominae, but only one genus, Linshcosteus, is found exclusively in the Old World. The placement of Linshcosteus within the Triatominae is controversial, because some researchers think blood-feeding in Linshcosteus is convergent. The nymphs have not been described, and provide cladistically useful characters. In this study we use scanning electron microscopy to describe the morphological features of the five instars of one species, Linshcosteus karupus. L. kaurupus is a new species, described by Galvão, Patterson, Rocha & Jurberg, from deep rock crevices among semi-arid scrub jungle habitat in a South India. L. karupus differs from other closely related species by its very prominent anterolateral projections of the pronotum, by the length to width ratio of the pronotum, by the pilosity of the head and several other characters, including phallic structures. Using scanning electron microscopy, we have collected images of several structures used in the identification of Triatomine species. The unique structures described in this study are of those of the lateral postocular region; tubercles or aggregations of granules on the abdomen; the sensory cave organ located on the antennae; and the ventral abdominal setae.
Species 1: Heteroptera Reduviidae Linshcosteus karupus (cone-nose bug)
Keywords: Triatominae, India
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