Feeding preference of the sand flies Lutzomyia umbratilis and L. spathotrichia (diptera: Psychodidae, Phlebotominae) in an urban forest patch in the city of Manaus, Amazonas, Brazil.
Precipitin tests were performed on blood meals of 199 sand flies (161 Lutzomyia umbratilis, 34 L. spathotrichia, two Lutzomyia of group shannoni, one L. anduzei) in a non-flooded upland forest on the Campus of the Universidade Federal do Amazonas. This is the second largest forest fragment in an urban setting in Brazil. Results on L. umbratilis, which is considered to be the principal leishmaniasis vector in this region, indicated rodents as its predominant blood source in contrast to previous reports in which blood meal analysis indicated that this species fed principally on Xenarthra (particularly sloths).
Nery
Liliane Coelho da Rocha
LC
Laboratório de Leishmaniose e Doença de Chagas, Instituto Nacional de Pesquisas da Amazônia, 69083 Manaus, AM, Brazil. lilianen@inpa.gov.br
Lorosa
Nery Elias S
NE
Franco
Antonia Maria Ramos
AM
D000818:Animals; D001938:Brazil; D005247:Feeding Behavior; D005766:Gastrointestinal Contents; D006801:Humans; D007303:Insect Vectors / Q000502:physiology*; D011576:Psychodidae / Q000502:physiology*; D014197:Trees; D014504:Urban Health