The diversity, relative abundance and distribution of Phlebotominae was examined in three sectors (edges and center) of a fragment of gallery forest in the municipality of Urbano Santos, Maranhão, Brazil. Specimens were captured in June and November, 2003, and in January and March, 2004, between 06:00 PM and 06:00 AM. At each collection night, 18 light traps were installed, six in each forest sector, totaling 864 hours of work. Seventeen species were found. The center of the fragment had the greatest diversity of species (14), followed by edge B (13) and edge A (12). The species Lutzomyia infraspinosa (Mangabeira, 1941), L. flaviscutellata (Mangabeira, 1942) and L. evandroi (Costa Lima & Antunes, 1936) were the only ones that appeared as dominants in all forest sectors. Fourteen species were found in both seasons; L. fluviatilis (Floch & Abonnenc, 1944) was found only in the rainy season (January and March); and L. migonei (França, 1920) and L. pinottii (Damasceno & Arouck, 1956) in the dry season (June and November). The differences regarding the abundance of individuals between the seasons were not statistically significant. The frequent presence of L. flaviscutellata may explain a case of diffuse cutaneous leishmaniasis in a patient of that municipality.
Vector ecology; Lutzomyia; Cerrado vegetation
