Observations on the phlebotomine sandflies of British Honduras

ABSTRACT

An account is given of the numbers of phlebotomine sandflies collected in British Honduras (a) on man, (b) in rat-baited fly-traps and (c) from resting places. Twelve species of Phlebotomus were taken on man, 11 species (including three never taken on man) were obtained in rat-baited traps, and 16 species (including three not taken on man or in fly traps) were collected from resting-places. Evidence of the geographical distribution and relative abundance of the different species is insufficient to establish which is the vector of Leishmania mexicana in British Honduras, but a comparison of the man-biting and rat-biting populations suggests P. apicalis and P. cruciatus as the probable vectors of the infection. Further investigations on the phlebotomines of British Honduras are required to discover flies with natural leptomonad infections. (AU)