The patterns of exochorion ornaments on eggs of seven South American Lutzomyia sand fly species were analyzed by scanning electron microscopy (SEM): Lutzomyia (Lutzomyia) cruzi (Mangabeira 1938), Lutzomyia (Micropygomyia) evandroi (Costa Lima and Antunes 1936), L. (Nyssomyia) intermedia (Lutz and Neiva 1912), L. longipalpis (Lutz and Neiva 1912), L. migonei (Franca 1920), L. (Nyssomyia) neivai (Pinto 1926), and L. renei (Martins, Falcao, and Silva 1957). Different patterns were observed, which showed the distinction between some species. Egg ornaments in L. cruzi and L. longipalpis appear as single, parallel, unconnected ridges, whereas eggs of L. migonei appear as single, parallel, connected ridges. Eggs of L. (Nyssomyia) intermedia and L. (N.) neivai present a new variation of the single, unconnected, parallel ridges pattern: small tubercles are present, distributed between the ridges. Eggs of L. renei present an elliptical pattern, with most structures connected by straight ridges. Eggs of L. (M.) evandroi present a polygonal pattern, with alternate rows of small and large hexagons. Our data emphasize the advantages of the SEM approach in the study of the exochorion patterns of Lutzomyia eggs and in the distinction of the sand fly species.

No abstract

Cutaneous leishmaniasis, caused by Leishmania (Viannia) braziliensis, is sporadic in many rural and suburban areas of Rio de Janeiro State. An investigation was carried out during 2008/9 in the Municipality of Saquarema, Rio de Janeiro, Southeast Brazil, in order to identify the phlebotomine sand fly fauna. More than 2,100 sand flies were collected in peridomestic areas in two chicken coops using CDC light traps. Nine species of phlebotomine sand flies were identified: Nyssomyia intermedia, Nyssomyia whitmani, Pintomyia (P.) pessoai, Pintomyia (P.) fischeri, Pintomyia (P.) bianchigalatiae, Migonemyia (M.) migonei, Lutzomyia (L.) longipalpis, Brumptomyia cunhai and Brumptomyia guimaraesi. Based on the results of this study together with related studies in other CL foci in Rio de Janeiro, both Nissomyia intermedia and Migonemyia migonei can be considered suspect vectors of the disease in the region. The potential risk of VL due to the presence of its proven vector L. longipalpis is discussed. Journal of Vector Ecology 36 (Supplement 1): S95-S98. 2011.

No abstract

During a field trip to the town of El Carmen in de Department of Santa Cruz we captured 108 specimens of Phlebotominae (Diptera: Psychodidae). Among the specimens examined, we found five species of sand fly comprising four genera. Four species (Lutzomyia cruzi, Lutzomyia forattinii, Evandromyia corumbaensis, Expapillata cerradincola) are new records which increased the number of species known to occur in Bolivia from 117 to 121.

Revista da Sociedade Brasileira de Medicina

We describe a technique to separate male and female pupae of sand flies. This has reduced the labour to separate flies after emergence and also allows the isolation of unmated adults for behavioural and physiological studies.Key words: Insecta -sand flies -sex -pupae -morphology Manipulation of adult sand flies involving aspiration and transfer between recipients is stressful to the insect and the separation of large numbers of male and females is a laborious and timeconsuming job. Damage to the insects is also undesirable when these are used in morphological studies. Although separation of the sexes in the immature stages is very difficult for most insects, it is easily achieved for phlebotomine sand flies. Morphological differences in the last segment of male and female pupae of sand flies were pointed out by Barreto in 1940 and also by Mangabeira (1942a,b) when studying the life cycle of few Brazilian species. Since these observations were published, distinction of the sexes at the pupal stage has not been pursued by sand fly researchers, although advances have been made in the colonisation of various species during the last decade, making it possible to focus attention on different aspects of the biology of these insects. Researchers are now concerned with behaviour as well as with the morphophysiology of the male and female besides the role of the different species as vectors of the disease. Thus, a routine procedure for sexing sand fly pupae becomes a standard requirement to obtain adult insects for use in these studies (Ward et al. 1987(Ward et al. , 1990 The following materials are required for this work: a large petri dish lined with a disc of filter paper, a soft thin paint brush (no. 0), a small container of distilled water in which to dip the paint brush, and a stereo microscope.Procedures: (1) pupae are obtained by any of the methodologies already established for the colonisation of sand flies (Modi & Tesh 1982, Brazil et al. 1997; (2) the filter paper is moistened with distilled water; (3) pupae are transferred from the breeding pots with the help of the paint brush and left for 5 sec to 10 min to moisten the larval exuvia which remains attached to the last pupal segment; before collecting each specimen the paint brush must be dipped in distilled water; (4) the larval exuvia is gently removed with the help of the paint brush so that the last segment of the pupa is revealed. Manipulation of the pupae should be done under the stereoscopic microscope. The separation of male and female pupae involves examination of the last pupal segment which in the male is larger, more rounded and paler than the previous one (Figure). The female body segments decrease in size from the cefalothorax to the tip of the abdomen, so that the last abdominal segment is the smallest of all. This difference in segment proportion is due to the relatively long size of the male external genitalia, consisting of paired styles, coxites, lateral lobes and parameres. After

No abstract