The sand fly Phlebotomus papatasi Scopoli, 1786, the vector of Leishmania major Yakimoff et Schokhor, 1914, is found in desert areas where sugars are scarce but also in habitats that abound in sugar sources. The sand flies require sugar meals from plant sources for their energy requirements and to hydrolyze these complex sugars, they need a repertoire of glycosidases. We presumed that there are...

An overview of ARS research in the field of veterinary pests is presented. Results of research from the past three years on ticks, fire ants, nuisance flies, mosquitoes, sand flies and black flies, among others, are included. Where applicable, significance of research is discussed.

Sand flies (Diptera: Psychodidae: Phlebotominae) are the biological vectors of leishmaniasis all around the world. In 1997, sand flies were collected in 14 cities and villages of Khash County in southeastern Iran, using 848 sticky traps (castor oil-coated white papers 20 × 30 cm). In this study, a total of 4673 sand flies, with 25.23% females and 74.77% males, were collected and identified to s...

BACKGROUND Phlebotomine sand flies are known to transmit Leishmania parasites, bacteria and viruses that affect humans and animals in many countries worldwide. Precise sand fly identification is essential to prevent phlebotomine-borne diseases. Over the past two decades, progress in matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization time-of-flight mass spectrometry (MALDI-TOF MS) has emerged as an acc...

The development and survival of sand fly Phlebotomus papatasi Scopoli (Diptera: Psychodidae) larvae fed feces of Syrian hamsters, Mesocricetus auratus, that had been fed a diet containing novaluron were evaluated. In total, six larval diets were used in sand fly larval bioassays. Four groups of larvae were fed feces of hamsters that had been maintained on a diet containing either 0, 9.88, 98.8,...

A faunistic study of Phlebotominae (Diptera: Psychodidae) sand flies was carried out in northern Cyprus. A total of 12,517 sand flies (3,285 males and 9,232 females) was collected from 20 different localities in July and September 2004. Nine species belonging to genus Phlebotomus and 3 species of genus Sergentomyia were identified. Of these, the presence of the species Phlebotomus neglectus Ton...

Cyfluthrin was evaluated in the field as a residual insecticide to develop a new strategy for control of Old World phlebotomine sand fly vectors of leishmaniasis, which live and rest inside termite mounds and animal burrows. This insecticide was evaluated as a residual spray in Baringo District, Kenya, during 1993. Termite mounds and animal burrows were treated with a cyfluthrin/corn oil mixtur...

visceral leishmanisasis is endemic and zoonotic in several foci in ardabil province, north west of iran. the main objective of this study was to determine the natural promastigote infection of sand-flies in active seasons, during 1991-1995. sand-flies were caught by sticky traps, aspirator and cdc light traps from indoors and outdoors. altogether 2659 sandflies were dissected and identified. th...

OBJECTIVES To assess the effect of monoclonal antibodies (MABS) raised against L. major derived LPG on L. major development in vitro and in its natural vector P. duboscqi. Also determine whether LPG molecule and the sand fly the gut lysates have shared epitopes. DESIGN A laboratory based study. SETTING Colony bred P. duboscqi sand flies and all other experiments were done under laboratory c...