FIRST REPORT OF RINAMBA PLATYFEMUR (MARSH) (HYMENOPTERA: BRACONIDAE) IN MEXICO

The braconid wasp Rinamba platyfemur (Marsh) (Hymenoptera: Braconidae) is reported for first time for Mexico;Yucatan Peninsula its northernmost distribution record

Técnicas bibliométricas para la autoevaluación de los grupos de investigación de la Universidad Autónoma de Yucatán, México

En este trabajo se presenta la metodología empleada en la autoevaluación de los Cuerpos Académicos del Campus de Ciencias Biológicas y Agropecuarias de la Universidad Autónoma de Yucatán, México, a través de parámetros cuantitativos que permitieron visualizar la calidad y cantidad de la producción académica. Para llevar a cabo dicha autoevaluación se empleó información bibliométrica obtenida de la base de datos Scopus©, del período enero 2000 a julio 2016. Se concluye que la metodología propuesta en este estudio puede ser útil para optimizar procesos de planeación y mejora continua de los cuerpos académicos de universidades públicas de México, así como utilizar en estudios futuros la metodología cualitativa para mejorar el proceso de autoevaluación

An Integrated Intervention Model for the Prevention of Zika and Other Aedes-Borne Diseases in Women and their Families in Mexico

We describe and discuss the rationale, design and current implementation of a model for an integrated intervention for the primary and secondary prevention of Zika and other Aedes-borne diseases and sexually transmitted infections that impact reproductive health, pregnancy and perinatal life stages in women and their families in Merida, Mexico. The intervention includes enhanced surveillance of pregnant women, implementation of communication strategies to promote good practices to prevent disease transmission, determination of the frequency of structural anomalies detected prenatally in the foetus, umbilical cord and placenta of pregnancies diagnosed with ZIK infection, detection of ZIKV and other arboviruses/viruses in products of abortion, in-utero and early newborn, provision of Aedes aegypti-proof houses? (protecting homes with door/window screens with insecticide to prevent the access of mosquitoes), mosquito repellents, larvicides and education/promotion of best practices for the prevention of infection with dengue (DENV), chikungunya (CHIKV) and Zika (ZIKV) and an anthropological studies on sociocultural factors of pregnant women associated with ZIKV. This intervention is being developed in a population of 10,000 people of the city of Merida and with the participation of a multidisciplinary group of public health professionals in collaboration with the Ministry of Health and the Government of Yucatan

Insecticide-Treated House Screens to Reduce Infestations of Dengue Vectors

The public health importance of the endophilic mosquito Aedes aegypti increased dramatically in the recent decade, because it is the vector of dengue, chikungunya, Zika and yellow fever. The use of long-lasting insecticidal nets (LLINs) fixed on doors and windows, as insecticide-treated screening (ITS), is one innovative approach recently evaluated for Aedes control in South Mexico. From 2009 to 2014, cluster-randomised controlled trials were conducted in Acapulco and Merida. Intervention clusters received Aedes-proof houses (‘Casas a prueba de Aedes’) with ITS and were followed up during 2 years. Overall, results showed significant and sustained reductions on indoor adult vector densities in the treated clusters with ITS after 2 years: ca. 50% on the presence (OR ≤ 0.62, P < 0.05) and abundance (IRR ≤ 0.58, P < 0.05). ITS on doors and windows are ‘user-friendly’ tool, with high levels of acceptance, requiring little additional work or behavioural change by householders. Factors that favoured these interventions were (a) house construction, (b) high coverage achieved due to the excellent acceptance by the community and (c) collaboration of the vector control services; and only some operational complaints relating to screen fragility and the installation process. ITS is a housing improvement that should be part of the current paradigms for urban vector-borne disease control

Insecticide-treated house screening protects against Zika-infected Aedes aegypti in Merida, Mexico

There is strong and unquestionable epidemiological evidence of the protective efficacy of insecticide treated screens (ITS) against an arboviral disease of major relevance. Houses with ITS were 79-85% less infested with Aedes females than control houses during the peak of the zika epidemic, an effect that was significant up to a year. A similar significant trend was observed for blood-fed Ae. aegypti females (76-82%). Communities strongly accepted the intervention, due to its perceived mode of action, the prevalent risk for Aedes-borne diseases in the area, and the positive feedback from neighbours receiving ITS. The paper provides details of the study

Efficacy of long-lasting insecticidal nets with declining physical and chemical integrity on Aedes aegypti (diptera : culicidae)

Fitting long-lasting insecticidal nets (LLIN) as screens on doors and windows has a significant impact on indoor adult Aedes aegypti, with entomological reductions measured in a previous study being significant for up to two years post-installation, even in the presence of pyrethroid-resistant Aedes populations. The study used bioassays (0, 6, and 12 months), which confirmed that LLIN residual activity decreased over time. However, the study demonstrates that the remaining chemical effect after field conditions still contributes to killing/repelling mosquitoes. LLIN screening from the neighborhood Juan Pablo II in Merida (Yucatan State, Mexico) were randomly selected. Merida is highly endemic for dengue and other Aedes-borne viruses

Low-Cost Materials for Do-It-Yourself (DIY) Installation of House Screening against <em>Aedes aegypti</em>

House-screening (HS) using fixed-aluminium frames to reduce the risk of indoor infestation with Aedes aegypti mosquitoes as well as the risk of Aedes-transmitted diseases in communities living in endemic areas. However, the success of this approach has been hindered by the elevated cost of the aluminium-based materials as well as their professional installation, which cannot be afforded by people living under vulnerable conditions. Cost-saving strategies such as the use of low-cost materials including wood, PVC, and Velcro are within the list of HS options available and offered by HS businesses and/or Do-it-yourself (DIY) packages verbi gratia ready-made and ready-to-install mosquito-screens. Here, we evaluated the efficacy of low-cost frames constructed with different materials to protect against Ae. aegypti indoor infestation using experimental huts. The efficacy of protection in preventing female mosquito passing inside the huts of any of the options of frames was high (>93%) compared to the control with no-screen. People’s perceptions on the different materials showed the most “popular” alternative was the frame made of wood (62%). All the prototype-frames of HS made of different materials were effective at blocking Ae. aegypti entering-mosquitoes particularly, low-cost options like magnets and Velcro

LOS BRACONIDOS (HYMENOPTERA: BRACONIDAE) COMO GRUPO PARAMETRO DE BIODIVERSIDAD EN LAS SELVAS DECIDUAS DEL TROPICO: UNA DISCUSION ACERCA DE SU POSIBLE USO

The aim of this essay is to propose the use of a parasitoid wasp family (Hymenoptera: Braconidae) as a parameter group for describing the biodiversity in tropical deciduous forest in order to evalúate and monitor the effect of anthropogenic activities in this ecosystems. The importance of this group is related to their regulating role on host populations, being an important alternativa for biological pest control by natural enemies instead of the application of pesticidas. Eight criteria are considerad to define them as a parameter group. In conclusión, the braconids, especially the koinobiont species can be used as parameter groups to determine the human impact on the natural communities and to estímate the species richness in a given región. In addition, this study provides Information related to the diversity of this group through a latitudinal gradient.El objetivo de este ensayo es proponer el uso de una familia de avispas parasitoides (Hymenoptera: Braconidae) como grupo parámetro útil en el estudio de la diversidad biológica de las selvas tropicales deciduas y en la evaluación y monitoreo de los efectos de las actividades antropogénicas en estos ecosistemas. La importancia del estudio de Braconidae está basada en los efectos reguladores que tienen sobre las poblaciones de hospederos y de las alternativas que ofrecen para el control de plagas mediante enemigos naturales, en lugar de la utilización de agroquímicos. Se discute la aplicabilidad de ocho criterios señalados en la literatura para utilizar a Braconidae como grupo parámetro. Se concluye que los bracónidos, en especial los grupos koinobiontes, pueden ser utilizados como parámetro para determinar el efecto que ha tenido la intervención del hombre en las comunidades y para estimar la riqueza de especies existente en una región determinada. Complementariamente se señala que hacen falta estudios sobre la sistemática y la biología de las especies que hay en el trópico con el fin de subsanar las carencias existentes de información, principalmente en lo que se refiere a los gradientes latitudinales que presenta el grupo

Spatio-temporal diversity of Cryptinae (Hymenoptera, Ichneumonidae) assemblages in a protected area of southeast Mexico

Currently efforts for conservation have been globally increasing, with the declaration of Protected Natural Areas. However, these efforts are usually focused on mammal, bird or plant species, but there is a considerable lack of data in regard to insect fauna in most of the world’s reserves. In order to redress the balance, the aim of this work was to assess spatial and temporal diversity of Cryptinae, one of the most species-rich subfamily of hymenopteran parasitoids, in a Protected Natural Area in Mexico. The sampling program was conducted using Malaise traps, which were functioning throughout 2008–2009, in three vegetation types of Ría Lagartos Biosfere Reserve (Mexico). A total of 108 species were found. Rarefaction showed that there are no differences in species richness between vegetation types, but there are significant seasonal changes, being most specious in the rainy season. Regarding abundance, this was significantly affected by vegetation and season. Related to community structure, Agonocryptus chichimecus, Camera euryaspis, and Acerastes myartsevae were the dominating species in the assemblages. Dry forest and rainy season showed highest diversity and evenness. β-Diversity between vegetation types and season was high; the complementarity value reaches 82.4 and 77.7 % respectively. Spatial and temporal diversity partitions show that diversity had more changes related to vegetation types than to seasons. Diversity was strongly influenced by β-diversity between vegetation types and by β-diversity among months and among seasons, with a contribution to the total species richness with 49.4, 19.4 and 14.5 %, respectively.This study was supported by Projects A/018089/08 and A/026909/09 of AECID (Ministerio de Asuntos Exteriores y de Cooperación, Spain) and by research grants from Consejo Nacional de Ciencia y Tecnología (CONACYT, Mexico)