Abstract
A study has been made of the phlebotomine fauna in an area highly endemic for Leishmania braziliensis braziliensis in forest of the Serra dos Carajás, Pará State, Brazil, using human and rodent bait. A total of 23 different species were encountered, including 2 new sandflies, to be described at a later date. Over 92% of the total catch off man was made up by species of the genus Psychodopygus. Of these, Ps. wellcomei formed 65% of the total caught off man and 24·5% of the total off rodents. This species is of particular interest in view of its tendency to bite man throughout daylight hours. Once more we have confirmed that although Lutzomyia flaviscutellata may be the predominent species feeding on rodents, it is rarely taken biting man. Very few sandflies were captured above ground-level; and attempts to find the daytime resting places for the major man-biting species were unsuccessful. The relationship of rainfall to sandfly density is discussed. It is concluded that the population density of certain forest species may depend not so much on the quantity of rainfall, but more on the amount of water which persists in the topsoil in a given region.
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