INTRODUCTION Cavernicola pilosa (Hemiptera, Reduviidae, Triatomi- nae) is a hematophagous insect (Barber 1937), in- variably found closely related with bats inhabiting caves or tree cavities in either humid or dry tropical regions of Panama and South America (Brazil, Co- lombia, Ecuador, Peru, and Venezuela), at latitudes between 9°15’ N and 23°18’ S, and altitudes ranging from 140 to 1160 m a.s.l. (Barber 1937, Dias et al. 1942, Marinkelle 1966, Pipkin 1968, D’Alessandro et al. 1971, Carcavallo et al. 1976, Lent & Wygod- zinsky 1979). There are reports of the presence of C. pilosa in human dwellings, inhabited or not (Pipkin 1968, Gomes & Pereira 1977, Barbosa et al. 2005), always associated with bats. Their close association with bats suggests that these are the only food source for C. pilosa in nature (Dias et al. 1942, Marinkelle 1966, D’Alessandro et al. 1971, Carcavallo et al. 1976), and according to these authors C. pilosa refuses any other blood source under laboratory conditions. According to Dias et al. (1942), Marinkelle (1966), Pipkin (1968), D’Alessandro et al. (1971), Carcavallo et al. (1976), and Baker et al. (1978), C. pilosa is the vector of several Schizotrypanum species, kinetoplastid parasites of bats, including one that is morphologically identical to Trypanosoma (Schizotry- panum) cruzi (Chagas 1909) that causes a non-detect- able infection in mice and guinea pigs. Neither do they cause a permanent infection in other T. cruzi tria- tomine vectors, except for Rhodnus prolixus under ex- perimental conditions. In order to provide further information on the natural environment of this triatomine species we describe in the present paper a cave that shelters thousands of bats together with a large triatomine colony. The maintenance of a colony in the lab sup- plied additionally useful information about the bio- logy of the species. MATERIAL AND METHODS Study area. C. pilosa was collected in a cave located at Boa Esperança farm, Taquaruçu district, rural area of Palmas city, Tocantins state, Brazil, at 10°22.921’S 48°03.587’W, altitude 504 m. The climate in the area is characterized by a period with high rainfall (Sep- tember to May) and another dry and cooler period, including up to two months with no rainfall. The annual pluviometric index is 1600 to 2100 mm, aver- age annual temperature ranges from 24 to 26° C, and relative humidity is between 80 and 85% (Ministério 63 SHORT COMMUNICATIONS ECOTROPICA 14: 63–68, 2008 © Society for Tropical Ecology ECOLOGY OF CAVERNICOLA PILOSA BARBER, 1937 (HEMIPTERA: REDUVIIDAE:TRIATOMINAE) IN THE BOA ESPERANÇA CAVE, TOCANTINS, BRAZIL Maria Angélica Oliveira 1 *, Rodrigo Lopes Ferreira 2 , Maurício Antônio Carneiro 3 & Liléia Diotaiuti 1 1 Laboratório de Triatomíneos e Epidemiologia da Doença de Chagas, Centro de Pesquisa René Rachou-FIOCRUZ. Av. Augusto de Lima 1715, cep 30190-002, Belo Horizonte, MG, Brazil 2 Setor de Zoologia, Departamento de Biologia, Universidade Federal de Lavras, Lavras, MG, Brazil 3 Departamento de Geologia, Universidade Federal de Ouro Preto, Ouro Preto, MG, Brazil Key words: Cavernicola pilosa, cave, cave fauna, Neotropics. * e-mail: angelica@cpqrr.fiocruz.br