Phlebotomine sand flies (Diptera, Psychodidae) from iron ore caves in the State of Pará, Brazil

By

Teodoro, Layane
Carvalho, Gustavo Mayr de Lima
Campos, Aldenise Martins
Cerqueira, Roberta
Souza-Silva, Marconi
Ferreira, Rodrigo Lopes
Barata, Ricardo

Type

Article

Date of Publication

2021

Original Publication

Subterranean Biology

Volume

37

Pages

27--42

Subjects

leishmaniasis , Phlebotominae , Vector ecology

Contributed by

Pensoft Publishers

Language

English

Published by

Sofia, Bulgaria Pensoft Publishers

Identifiers

DOI: https://doi.org/10.3897/subtbiol.37.57534

 

Abstract

The present study aimed to evaluate the distribution of sand fly species in iron ore caves in the State of Pará, Brazil and to associate the richness and abundance of these insects with the capacity of leishmaniasis transmission. Entomological captures were carried out in the years 2010, 2013, 2014 and 2015, throughout active samples with brushes, along the entire caves’ extension, in dry and rainy periods. A total of 9,807 sand flies were counted during the 532 samplings events, being 4,340 in the dry period and 5,467 in the rainy period. A random sample of 802 morphologically identified specimens consisted of 8 genera and 17 species, being 369 males (46%) and 433 females (54%). The predominant species was Sciopemyia sordellii with 60.6% of the total of sand flies collected. Differences in composition and richness were observed between caves located inside of forest and anthropized areas. The mean richness and abundance were different between the wet and rainy periods, with a greater abundance of these insects in the rainy period. The phlebotomine fauna proved to be rich and abundant in the sampled caves, however, environmental degradation seems to be the main factor determining changes in the composition and richness, reinforces the importance of these places as a shelter for sand flies in degraded areas.