Abstract
Light traps represent the most used attractive system to collect and monitor phlebotomine sand flies. Recent studies have suggested that light traps can be easily upgraded by the use of light-emitting diode (LED) with positive effects on trap design, weight, and battery life. However, scant data on the effect of different LED colours on the attractiveness to phlebotomine sand fly species are available in literature. In this study, the capture performances of light traps equipped with different LED colours on phlebotomine sand fly species indigenous in the Mediterranean area were evaluated. Phlebotomine sand fly collections were performed using a classical light trap (CLT), equipped with a traditional incandescent lamp, and five Laika 4.0 light traps supplied, each with LED of different colours and wavelengths: (i) white; (ii) red; (iii) green; (iv) blue; (v) UV. Light traps were set for three consecutive nights fortnightly from May to October 2017 and climate data recorded using a meteorological station. A total of 411 phlebotomine sand flies (191 males and 220 females), belonging to three different species, namely, Phlebotomus perniciosus (n= 298, 141 males and 157 females), Sergentomyia minuta (n=110, 48 males and 62 females), and Phlebotomus neglectus (n=3, 2 males and 1 females) were collected. Abundance of capture was influenced by colours of LED and time. The highest number of phlebotomine sand flies was captured on June (P<0.01) and by UV LED (P<0.01). As regard to species, P. perniciosus was mainly captured by UV LED on June (P<0.01). No effect of time (P>0.05) or LED colour (P>0.05) was recorded for S. minuta and P. neglectus. According to the results of the present study light trap equipped with UV LED can represent an effective tool for the capture of sand fly species in the Mediterranean area.
Highlights
Phlebotomine sand flies (Diptera: Psychodidae) are small nocturnal insects that act as vectors of various infectious and parasitic agents including canine and human Leishmaniosis.These insects play a crucial role in the epidemiology of relevant diseases being some of great veterinary and medical importance; their monitor and control are, of pivotal importance.The system for trapping phlebotomine sand flies can be categorized into attractive or passive traps, and the different methods may influence the capture outcomes including specific attraction to sand fly species in a given area [1]
Phlebotomine sand flies are nocturnal/crepuscular insects and their flight activity increases in relation to the decrease of the daily light intensity [2], they are contemporarily attracted by artificial light; light traps are largely employed for the collection of these insects
A statistically significant effect of time and trap model found that the highest number of specimens was collected in the month of June and by blue light-emitting diode (LED), UV
Summary
Phlebotomine sand flies (Diptera: Psychodidae) are small nocturnal insects that act as vectors of various infectious and parasitic agents including canine and human Leishmaniosis.These insects play a crucial role in the epidemiology of relevant diseases being some of great veterinary and medical importance; their monitor and control are, of pivotal importance.The system for trapping phlebotomine sand flies can be categorized into attractive (e.g., light traps and CO2 ) or passive (e.g., sticky traps) traps, and the different methods may influence the capture outcomes including specific attraction to sand fly species in a given area [1]. Phlebotomine sand flies (Diptera: Psychodidae) are small nocturnal insects that act as vectors of various infectious and parasitic agents including canine and human Leishmaniosis. These insects play a crucial role in the epidemiology of relevant diseases being some of great veterinary and medical importance; their monitor and control are, of pivotal importance. It has been demonstrated that the eyes of the adult sand fly Lutzomyia longipalpis reacted maximally to light in the ultraviolet region (at 340 nm) with a secondary peak in the blue-green-yellow region at 520-546 nm [4]
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