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Criterios de nuliparidad y de paridad en Lutzomyia townsendi (Ortiz, 1959) del occidente de Venezuela

Lutzomyia townsendi (Ortiz, 1959) is the main anthropophilic sandfly in endemic places for Leishmania braziliensis and L. garnhami in Western Venezuela. The study of laboratory bred females, nulliparous or parous and, wild females fed on man as well as wild females maintained with sucrose, allowed to establish a criterion of nulliparity with 56.6% of confidence for those captured in field conditions. In the same wild females, parity can be assessed with 81.5% of confidence. After blood digestion of full-engorged females a gonotrophic cycle is completed. Abortive oogenesis and accumulation of phospholipids in midgut epitelial cells and into accessory glands are observed. The ovoposition produces a thick and irregular ovaric calix with rests of abortive oocytes and accumulation of a melanin-like black pigment. All these changes are enough for identification of a parous fly. The presence of phospholipids in the stomach and accessory glands of a nulliparous sandfly is indicative of digestion of an incomplete blood meal.


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