The seasonal fluctuation, hourly frequency and occurrence of phlebotomine sandflies inside and around dwellings and in the cerrado area of the municipality of Santa Quitéria, State of Maranhão were studied. The specimens were collected between 6:00 pm and 6:00 am from May 1999 to April 2000 through CDC-type light traps. A total of 4,880 specimens belonging to 11 species were collected. The highest species richness and abundance were observed around dwellings (11 species, 50.1% of the specimens), followed by species collected inside dwellings (9 species, 34%) and in the cerrado (7 species, 15.8%). Two species were found during the rainy season, one during the dry season and eight during both seasons. High frequencies of Lutzomyia longipalpis Lutz & Neiva, 1912 (88.4%), L. evandroi Costa Lima & Antunes, 1936 (83.6%), L. lenti Mangabeira, 1938 (86%), and L. shannoni Dyar, 1929 (100%) were recorded during the dry season, whereas the frequencies of L. quinquefer Dyar, 1929 (100%) and L. whitmani Antunes & Coutinho, 1939 (75%) were higher during the rainy period. Phlebotomine sandflies were collected throughout the night, but the times of higher frequency varied according to species, with peaks being observed for L. quinquefer (6:00 - 7:00 pm), L. goiana Martins, Falcão & Silva, 1962 (6:00 - 9:00 pm), L. whitmani (7:00 - 9:00 pm), and L. longipalpis (8:00 - 9:00 pm) during sunset and in the first night hours, and for L. evandroi (9:00 - 11:00 pm and 3:00 - 5:00 am), L. longipalpis (1:00 - 3:00 am), and L. lenti (10:00 - 11:00 pm and 4:00 - 5:00 am) throughout the night and during dawn. The occurrence of phlebotomine sandflies in different environments, at different times and during different seasons is accompanied by the notification of severed cases of cutaneous and visceral leishmaniasis.
Lutzomyia; seasonal occurrence; hourly frequency; leishmaniasis
