This study investigates Culicoides infestation in peridomestic environments in two villages in Maranhão, one with hot and humid climate and the other with semihumid climate. We evaluated the composition, richness, abundance, and seasonality of species. We captured insects using CDC light traps installed in animal shelters once a month, from 6 pm to 6 am, for 24 mo (May 2012 to April 2014). In this study, 17 species were found. Of these, 10 occurred simultaneously in two areas; six were found only in hot and humid area, while one occurred only in the semihumid area. Species richness was higher in the hot and humid climate (16 species) than in the semihumid (11 species). The rank of abundance was uneven across areas: C. foxi, C. insignis, C. filariferus, C. ignacioi, and C. flavivenula were dominant in the hot and humid area, and C. ignacioi, C. foxi, C. filariferus, C. insignis, and C. boliviensis in the semihumid. Midges were more abundant in the rainy season in both areas. This result reveals a diversified fauna of midges, with variable abundance of rank according to the area, prevailing in the rainy season and in the Amazon area. It also highlights the need for health monitoring in order to contain the infestation by these insects in peridomestic environments, taking into account that some species can be effective vectors of arboviruses in the Amazon and northeastern Maranhão.

We investigated whether biting midges in peridomestic environments are affected by environmental management practices and the presence of domestic animals. We used CDC light traps to collect midges in 112 residences across 24 locations along tourism routes of Maranhão, Brazil. The collection areas were characterized as follows: i) peridomestic area with domestic animals and without management (dirty); ii) peridomestic with domestic animals and management (clean); iii) peridomestic without animals and with management (clean); iv) peridomestic without animals and without management (dirty). The first two treatments had higher biting midge species richness and abundance, respectively. Generalized linear models indicated a positive correlation between the presence of domestic animals and midge abundance, with an approximate four-fold increase in Culicoides (Diptera: Ceratopogonidae) abundance in peridomestic areas with animals. The same model showed that domestic animals have no influence on richness. Environmental management does not appear to influence species richness or abundance of biting midges. Journal of Vector Ecology 42 (1): 113-119. 2017.

Submetido em 11/03/2014 Aceito para publicação em 15/12/2014 Resumo O conteúdo estomacal de fêmeas do gênero Culicoides foi estudado para determinar suas fontes alimentares sanguíneas e o grau de relações estabelecidas entre esses insetos e seus hospedeiros. Os espécimes foram capturados em armadilhas luminosas tipo CDC no período entre março de 2009 e fevereiro de 2010, em duas localidades rurais da ilha de São Luís-MA. Foram capturadas 930 fêmeas ingurgitadas, pertencentes a 12 espécies de Culicoides. Foi utilizado o exame da reação da precipitina, que revelou o sangue de sete tipos diferentes de vertebrados que haviam sido sugados, sendo os mais frequentes: ave (41,9%), roedor (21,2%), cão (15,4%) e ser humano (7,3%). Nas reações duplas predominaram ave/cão (20%) e cão/gato, cão/gambá, ave/roedor, gambá/roedor e gato/humano (13,3% cada). Dentre as espécies de Culicoides encontradas, C. paucienfuscatus Barbosa, 1947 destacou-se, por ter sugado apenas sangue de aves. As 11 espécies restantes sugaram sangue tanto de animais domésticos como de sinantrópicos, sendo que, destas, quatro também sugaram o sangue humano. Os resultados permitiram concluir que C. paucienfuscatus apresentou relações especíicas, foi considerada ornitóila e as outras espécies foram generalistas. A presença desses animais em ambiente peridoméstico é um fator que favorece a manutenção dos Culicoides nos povoados rurais e a presença do ser humano como um dos vertebrados mais sugados indica que além de fazer parte da dieta das fêmeas de Culicoides, pode participar de eventuais ciclos epidemiológicos de parasitas, devido ao hábito eclético desses insetos.

The aim of this study was to investigate whether temperature, rainfall, and humidity influence the annual distribution of Culicoides Latreille 1809, species abundance and richness in rural areas on São Luís Island in the state of Maranhão, Brazil. Biting midges were collected in housing for domestic animals in the peridomestic areas of 10 homes. A CDC light trap was installed in each peridomestic area from 6:00 p.m. to 6:00 a.m. once a month for 12 mo. In total, 23,633 individuals belonging to 26 Culicoides species were captured. The most abundant species were Culicoides diabolicus Hoffman, 1925 (27.43%), C. ignacioi Forattini, 1957 (25.9%), C. flavivenulus Costa Lima, 1937 (15.53%), C. insignis Lutz, 1913 (10.66%), C. filariferus Hoffman, 1939 (6.21%), C. boliviensis Spinelli & Wirth, 1984 (6.07%), C. foxi Ortíz, 1950 (2.83%), and C. leopoldoi Ortíz, 1951 (2.54%). Species richness and abundance were greater during the rainy season (24 species; 88% of the individuals) than during the dry season (18 species; 12% of individuals). However, persistent rain on the days the midges were collected or in the preceding 24 h adversely affected abundance. Mean monthly maximum temperature and rainfall on the day of the collection adversely affected Culicoides abundance and richness.

Introduction: This work aimed to study the community structure of sandflies, with regard to the richness, constancy, abundance, and monthly frequency of the species with a focus on the transmission of leishmaniasis. Methods: The study was conducted in the rural villages of Bom Jardim and Santa Maria, situated on the edge of a tropical rain forest in the municipality of São Jose de Ribamar, Maranhão, Brazil. The phlebotomines were captured in the intradomiciles and peridomiciles of each village, with Centers for Disease Control (CDC) light traps set in 10 homes in each village, for 1 year, once a month, from 18h to 6h. Results: We collected 1,378 individuals of 16 sandfly species. The capture success rate was higher in Bom Jardim (0.61 specimens/hour/trap) than that of Santa Maria (0.35/specimens/hour/trap). The sandflies were more abundant in the peridomiciles (86.1%) and in the rainy season (77%). Five species were considered constants (occurring in more than 50% of samples), 5 accessory (25%-50%), and 6 accidental (<25%). The most abundant species were Lutzomyia longipalpis (59.7%) and L whitmani (28%). The permutation analysis showed differences between the species composition of the villages and no separation between the intradomicile and peridomicile of each village. The species that most contributed to the dissimilarity between the light traps of the 2 villages were L. longipalpis, L. whitmani, and L. evandroi, contributing to 80.8% of the variation among groups. Conclusions: The high level of richness and abundance of species and the presence of competent vectors throughout the year and around houses justify the occurrence of leishmaniasis cases reported in the area.