SPECIES COMPOSITION AND RELATIVE ABUNDANCE OF SAND FLIES OF THE GENUSLUTZOMYIA (DIPTERA, PSYCHODIDAE) AT AN ENDEMIC FOCUS OF VISCERAL LEISHMANIASIS IN COLOMBIA

Ecological studies on the sand fly Lutzomyia longipalpis (Lutz and Nei va) were conducted during 1990-1993 at a small rural community in Colo mbia where American visceral leishmaniasis is endemic. Weekly sand fly collections were made from pigpens, houses, and natural resting sites , using hand-held aspirators, sticky (oiled) paper traps, and opossum- baited Disney traps. In total, 263,094 sand flies were collected; L. l ongipalpis predominated (86.1%), followed by L. trinidadensis (11.0%), L. cayennensis (2.7%), and 8 other Lutzomyia species. The species com position and sex ratio of these sand flies varied among sites and by c ollection method. L. longipalpis were captured most efficiently by dir ect aspiration from animal bait. Conversely, sticky paper traps, espec ially inside houses and at rock resting sites, collected a greater div ersity of species, but a lower relative abundance of L. longipalpis.