Phlebotominae and Trichomyiinae (Diptera: Psychodidae) diversity in a tropical dry forest of central Mexico: a comparison of conserved and anthropized habitats

ABSTRACT

We recorded and analyzed the diversity of Phlebotominae and Trichomyiinae in two types of landscape (conserved and anthropized) over the course of three seasons (rainy, cold and dry) in southwestern Puebla, Mexico. A total of 578 specimens belonging to five genera and 10 species were obtained. Phlebotominae was represented by eight species, six of them new records for the state of Puebla, and for Trichomyiinae two species were recorded in the state of Puebla for the first time. There were eight species in the anthropized area and 10 species were recorded in the conservation area. The abundance of both subfamilies was high in the conservation area, representing 83.6% of the total sample, whereas in the anthropized area only 16.4% of the total sample was recorded. Eight species were found during the rainy and dry seasons, and seven species during the cold season. Abundance was highest in the dry season (76.30%), and lowest in the rainy season (5.9%). This kind of information is useful for understanding the transmission patterns of visceral leishmaniasis – endemic to central Mexico – by phlebotomine sand flies.

KEYWORDS:

• Sand flies
• moth flies
• seasonal variation
• richness
• abundance

Acknowledgments

We appreciate the constructive comments made by two reviewers and by the editor as they contributed to improving the manuscript.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Additional information

Funding

This work was supported by the ‘Dípteros de importancia médica-veterinaria de la selva baja caducifolia de la mixteca poblana’ project under the ‘Programa para el Desarrollo Profesional para el Tipo Superior (PRODEP) como NPTC con folio BUAP-PTC-438, No. Convenio DSA/103.5/15/7449’ program, coordinated by César Antonio Sandoval Ruiz; PRODEP [BUAP-PTC-438].