CHAPTER 3 

 LABORATORY COLONIZATION OF Lutzomyia diabolica 

 WITH NOTES ON ITS BIOLOGY IN THE LABORATORY 

 (DIPTERA: PSYCHODIDAE) 



Introduction 



The importance of maintaining large laboratory colonies of sand 

 flies was summarized by Safyanova (1964) as "necessary for the 

 experimental study of their biology, behavior and mutual relations 

 with disease agents and for the testing of new methods of vector 

 control" (p. 573). These aspects, as well as genetic studies, were 

 considered by the WHO Scientific Working Group on the Leishmaniases 

 (WHO, 1977) as "neglected subjects of high priority" (p. 26). 

 Inspite of recent advances in the laboratory colonization of vector 

 species, few functional colonies exist, due to persistent problems of 

 high larval mortality, death of females at oviposition, and intensive 

 labor requirements (Kil 1 ick-Kendrick, 1978). 



Grassi (1907) was the first to rear a sand fly species, 

 Phlebotomus mascitti Grassi, in the laboratory and Bayma (1923) 

 cultured Lutzomyia intermedia (Lutz and Neiva) through one 

 generation— the earliest recorded rearing of a New World sand fly 

 species. Subsequent to these earliest efforts, fewer than 25 of the 

 approximately 600 known sand fly species have been colonized in large 

 numbers for more than ten generations (Ward, 1977; Ki 1 1 ick-Kendrick, 

 1978; Young et al_., 1981; Endris et al_., 1982). Ki 1 1 ick-Kendrick 

 (1978) distinguished between rearing sand flies for only a few 



■91- 



