Lutzomyia antunesi has been commonly reported in outbreaks of
cutaneous leishmaniasis (CL) in the Orinoquia region of Colombia. The bionomics
of this species were studied in the municipality of Villavicencio (Meta,
Colombia). Sandflies were captured over the course of one week per month for one
year in intradomiciliary, peridomiciliary and extradomiciliary housing areas.
The captures were performed from 06:00 pm-06:00 am using CDC light traps and the
females were processed for polymerase chain reaction (PCR) to detect
Leishmania spp. A total of 22,097 specimens and 19 species
were captured of which Lu. antunesi (89%) and Lutzomyia
walkeri (5%) were the most abundant. Other species recognised as
anthropophilic (Lutzomyia panamensis, Lutzomyia
gomezi, Lutzomyia flaviscutellata and
Lutzomyia fairtigi) were present in very low abundance
(< 2%). Natural infection with Leishmania spp was detected using PCR in
Lu. antunesi, Lu. panamensis and
Lu. flavicutellata, showing infection rates of 1%, 4.8% and
7.5%, respectively. The present paper provides information on various ecological
aspects of Lu. antunesi. An analysis of seasonality shows that
this species increases in abundance in the hottest months (December, January and
February), directly correlating with the maximum temperature and inversely
correlating with precipitation. The natural infection rate is associated with
the peaks of highest abundance.