A brief inventory of sand flies (Diptera, Psychodidae) from the National Forest of the Rio Preto, state of the Espírito Santo, southeastern Brazil

Abstract

The inventories on sand flies are usually conducted for a long period in leishmaniasis-endemic regions. Thus, there is little data on the sand fly fauna in areas where no leishmaniasis cases have been reported. Therefore, we conducted an inventory to study the sand fly fauna in the National Forest of Rio Preto (NFRP). We carried out a brief inventory by using four CDC light traps in 2009 during winter and summer. We collected 1,403 sand flies belonging to 11 genera and 22 species. As expected, we did not find in the NFRP region sand flies species that have been reported as vectors of Leishmania. However, we found some species of sand flies with few records and that rarely have been reported in southeastern Brazil. Nevertheless, the diversity and species richness of the sand flies in NFRP were similar to those reported in other Atlantic Forest conservation areas. Hence, we drew the following conclusions: (i) it is necessary to carry out inventories not only in leishmaniasis-endemic areas but also in areas with no records of this disease; and (ii) brief inventories can be useful in describing the sand fly fauna in such areas.

Ecological and Epidemiological Aspects of the Sand Fly (Diptera, Psychodidae) Fauna of the National Monument of Pontões Capixabas, State of Espírito Santo, Southeastern Brazil

“…Based on species richness alone, our data also suggest the Central Corridor Region as a biodiversity hotspot within the Atlantic Forest, because the overall species richness of the NMPC was considerably higher than that of the south region (São Paulo refugium; Galati et al 2010a,b;Marcondes et al 2001), and that of the north region (Pernambuco refugium; Andrade et al 2005, Cortez et al 2007, Guimarães et al 2012, of the Atlantic Forest. Considering only the Atlantic Forest within the State of Espṍrito Santo, the species richness was also the highest recorded (Pinto et al 2010b(Pinto et al , 2012b. It is possible that the high sand ßy species richness in the central region of the Atlantic Forest is associated with the high diversity of vertebrates in the area (Costa et al 2000, Myers et al 2000, Pinto et al 2009, Tonini et al 2010, because many sand ßy species show some species-speciÞc preference for the host that provides them with a bloodmeal (Falqueto 1995).…”

DNA Barcoding of Neotropical Sand Flies (Diptera, Psychodidae, Phlebotominae): Species Identification and Discovery within Brazil

“…While our study was in progress, the shannoni group of the genus Psathyromyia was revised [ 43 ], including species previously reported for the state of Espírito Santo as Psathyromyia shannoni (Dyar) and Psathyromyia pestanai (Barretto & Coutinho) [ 84 , 85 , 86 ]. From the revision, two species of the shannoni complex, Pa .…”

Environmental Niche Modelling of Phlebotomine Sand Flies and Cutaneous Leishmaniasis Identifies Lutzomyia intermedia as the Main Vector Species in Southeastern Brazil

“…In ES, approximately 59 species of sand flies have been recorded, among which, three species likely have epidemiological importance in disease transmission: Lutzomyia intermedia (Lutz & Neiva, 1912), Lutzomyia migonei (França, 1920), and Lutzomyia whitmani (Antunes & Coutinho, 1939) [16,17–20]. Other common species, such as Lutzomyia choti (Floch and Abonnenc, 1941) and Lutzomyia lenti (Mangabeira, 1938), seem to not be associated with the disease occurrence in ES [5].…”