Communication among phlebotomine sandflies: a field study of domesticated Lutzomyia longipalpis populations in Amazonian Brazil

Density of Sand Flies (Diptera: Psychodidae) in Domestic and Wild Animal Shelters in an Area of Visceral Leishmaniasis in the State of Rio Grande do Norte, Brazil

“…longipalpis in the present study was similar to other reports (Dye et al 1991, Quinnell & Dye 1994. They consider this finding as a strategy used by the species which is caused by the production of male pheromones and as a consequence females are attracted and other males are recruited to feeding and mating sites (Dye et al 1991, Quinnell & Dye 1994.…”

“…On this basis, the food sources and shelter and resting sites for these spe-cies vary according to the presence of domestic and wild animals in the peridomiciliary area. Studies on Lutzomyia longipalpis (Dye et al 1991, Ward et al 1993, Quinnell & Dye 1994, Kelly & Dye 1997 have shown the importance of semiochemicals (pheromones and host -produced kairomones) for the aggregation of sand flies in the peridomiciliary environment.…”

An experimental study of the peridomestic distribution of Lutzomyia longipalpis (Diptera: Psychodidae)

“…The males produce a pheromone which has been shown to attract females from a distance in the laboratory (Morton & Ward, 1989). Pheromones are presumably the means by which males can powerfully attract females, and to a lesser extent other males, to feeding and mating sites in the field (Dye et al, 1991). Our results indicate that, under experimental conditions, the pheromone can attract other sandflies into a house with shuttered doors and windows, but hosts alone attracted few or no sandflies.…”

Lutzomyia longipalpis and the eco-epidemiology of American visceral leishmaniasis, with particular reference to Brazil: a review

“…On the other hand, following their observations on the progressive infestation of newly constructed chicken houses by Lu. longipalpis, Dye et al (1991) and Quinnell and Dye (1994a) were led to the conclusion that the females, accompanied by some males, are at first attracted by host odour and latterly by the pheromone. It was noted, however, that whereas the males tended to remain longer in the chicken houses, most of the females did not rest there during the day.…”