Phlebotomine sandflies of Southern Brazil

Objective To identify the sandfly fauna and some aspects of their behavior in forest and anthropic environments. Methods Sandfly captures were undertaken in farm (23 degrees 6' S; 50 degrees 22' W), in Southern Brazil. Falcao light traps were set in forest, domicile and domestic animal shelters and mosquitoes were collected monthly, between 17h and 7h, from March 1997 to February 1998. Results A total of 3,655 specimens representing 13 species were captured. Nyssomyia whitmani and Nyssomyia neivai were the predominant species, with a total of 2,977 specimens (81.0%). Of these two species, a total of 2,552 (85.7%) specimens were captured in intradomiciliary and peridomiciliary environments, 2,332 (91.3%) of them in a pigsty These two species predominated between 20h-21h when 90.4% of the specimens were captured Conclusions Five sandfly species, N. whitmani, N. neivai, Migonemyia migonei, Pintomyia pessoai and Pintomyia fischeri, potential vectors of cutaneous leishmaniasis, were captured. The importance of the two former species is emphasized, since both presented similar behavior in regard to seasonal period, hourly frequency and predominance in the anthropic environment. Besides, N. whitmani was the most predominant species.