Lutzomyia intermedia
and
Lutzomyia whitmani
occur sympatrically in the district of Posse, municipality of Petrópolis,
in the State of Rio de Janeiro (114 km from the city of Rio de Janeiro),
where sand flies were captured weekly for three consecutive years in both
the peridomicile and forest, in two first years from 18:00 to 22:00 h, using
a Shannon trap and CDC light traps. The anthropophilic habit was assessed
by recording the specimens that bit the human captors. Considering the different
capture types and sites, the following species were identified:
Brumptomyia brumpti
,
B. cardosoi
,
B. guimaraesi
,
Lutzomyia amarali
,
L. longipalpis
,
L. microps, L. costalimai, L. edwardsi, L. firmatoi, L. migonei, L. termitophila,
L. tupynambai, L. fischeri, L. pessoai, L. lutziana, L. shannoni, L. barrettoi,
L. intermedia, L. whitmani, L. lloydi
, and
L. minasensis. L. intermedia
(38.3%) and
L. whitmani
(38.6%) predominated.
L. intermedia
predominated in the peridomicile, where it displayed more intense anthropophily,
while
L. whitmani
displayed greater density in the banana plantations and forest, preferential
sites for biting humans. Studies on seasonality showed that while
L. intermedia
displayed greater density in the hottest months of the year (December, January,
and February),
L. whitmani
was abundant in the coolest months (June, July, and August), although both
occurred throughout the year.
