Flebotomineos (DIPTERA: PSYCHODIDAE: PHLEBOTOMINAE) de uma zona de proteção ambiental e seu entorno: resposta comportamental a diferentes fontes luminosas

Abstract

Deforestation has directly impacted the biology and bionomy of leishmaniasis vectors. Entomological surveillance, as a measure recommended by the WHO for the establishment of control actions and monitoring of Leishmania transmission, requires the capture of sandflies in different ecotopes. For this purpose, light traps of the Center for Disease Control type are the most commonly used. Adaptations have been developed to enhance the attractiveness of sand flies and, consequently, capture more insects in the traps. The perception of different wavelengths of the spectrum visible by sand flies is not yet fully elucidated. The study was based on the investigation of phlebotomine sand fly fauna of an environmental protection zone in the north of Natal city and its surroundings, also observing the attractiveness of each species in relation to the visible spectrum emitted by three different lamps: blue LED, red LED and glow control. Phlebotomine catches occurred for one year, with a frequency of three consecutive days per month, in forest and peridomicillary ecotopes; Traps were changed every day. The fauna of captured sand flies revealed seven species divided into five genera. The Kruskal-Wallis H' test revealed a noteworthy difference between the light spectrum emitted by the trap lamp and the abundance of captured insects. The test of the generalized linear model demonstrated a significant influence between the area-sex and color-area sets with the number of sandflies collected. Traps using blue LED showed a greater efficiency in the capture of sand flies, presenting values almost twice as great as the incandescent lamp. Lamps with LED technology favorably replace the attraction and capture of phlebotomine sandflies species, increasing the effectiveness in diversity and abundance.