Cutaneous leishmaniasis caused by Leishmania venezuelensis (Bonfante-Garrido,
1980) is endemic in dry urban areas in the central part of western Venezuela. This disease has
been also found in cats. Lutzomyia olmeca bicolor formerly suspected as a vector of
L. venezuelensis could not be found in dry urban areas where most of the cases of
cutaneous leishmaniasis occurs. Lu. trini-dadensis had been found infected with
promastigotes, but isolates could not be maintained in culture media and into hamsters and,
therefore, were not characterized.
