[First finding of Lutzomyia tihuiliensis (Diptera: Psychodidae) in the Valle de Aburrá, Colombia].
BACKGROUND
Three of the seven species that comprise the pia series of the Lutzomyia verrucarum group have been recorded in Colombia, including L. pia, L. limafalcaoae and L. emberai.


OBJECTIVE
The aim of this paper is to report the occurrence of an anthropophilic morphospecies of the pia series in the country.


METHODS
Sand flies were collected with a mouth aspirator on protected human bait in a secondary forest in the municipality of Envigado, department of Antioquia. The entomological survey was performed from 18:00 to 22:00 hours in June and December, 2004.


RESULTS
Captured specimens were identified as L. tihuiliensis, which can be distinguished easily from other species of the pia series by its basally pigmented pleura, the length of the labro-epipharynx, (3)350 microm, and the length of the second palpomere, (3)170 microm. In addition to the previous characters, the sand flies collected exhibit a longer common sperm duct than the individual ducts with the ratio of the lengths of the common/individual ducts (3)2.


CONCLUSIONS
The finding of L. tihuiliensis raises to 21 the number of species of the Lutzomyia verrucarum group recorded to date in Colombia, including two endemic species of the pia series. From a biogeographical point of view, the presence of four species of the pia series in Colombia is of great interest for the study of the origin of the taxon.
Bejarano
Eduar Elías
EE
Grupo de Investigaciones Biomédicas, Universidad de Sucre, Sincelejo, Colombia. eduarelias@yahoo.com
Sierra
Diana
D
Pérez-Doria
Alveiro
A
Vélez
Iván Darío
ID
D000818:Animals; D003105:Colombia; D003710:Demography; D011576:Psychodidae / Q000145:classification*