Short ‐term movement of Phlebotomus argentipes (Diptera: Psychodidae) in a visceral leishmaniasis‐endemic village in Bihar, India

ABSTRACTVisceral leishmaniasis (VL), transmitted by the sand fly,Phlebotomus argentipes, is frequently reported on the Indian subcontinent where its basic ecology is largely unknown. Our objective was to evaluate the effectiveness of sugar solution (10%), containing colored food dye (0.5%) applied to peridomestic vegetation, to markP. argentipes and subsequently estimate horizontal movement by capturing dye ‐marked specimens in CDC light traps in a village in Bihar, India. From September 30 to November 27, 2016, a total of 667 captured sand flies were successfully marked using sugar baits, of which 608 wereP. argentipes (~91.2%). Although the majority ofP. argentipes were captured<100 m from the respective marking sites, a significantly greater proportion of females (15.7%) was captured>100 m from marking sites when compared to males (3.1%). Sand flies that ingested sugar bait were only collected from areas containing>eight vegetation types and mature banana plants. The average number of markedP. argentipes captured per trap ‐night (±SD)<100 m from respective marking sites was greatest in peridomestic vegetation (Males: 0.9 ± 1.97; Females: 0.63 ± 1.44), followed by areas with livestock (Males: 0.66 ± 2.75; Females: 0.24 ± 0.69), and areas with humans only (Males: 0.1 ± 0.36; Females: 0.11 ± 0.31). To our knowledge, this is the only study in Bihar in which sand flies have been marked with food dyes, and the resul ts demonstrate the potential usefulness ...
Source: Journal of Vector Ecology - Category: Biology Authors: Tags: Original Article Source Type: research