Leishmaniasis in the Jordan Valley. IV. Attraction of Phlebotomus papatasi (Diptera: Psychodidae) to plants in the field.

Abstract

The attraction of Phlebotomus papatasi to 12 plant species was examined in the field using plantbaited traps. Of the species tested, 8 attracted significantly more flies than unbaited controls, with Capparis spinosa var. aravensis, Solanum nigrum, Prosopis farcta, and Atriplex halimus giving the highest catches. Traps provided with a source of humidity also gave significantly higher catches than controls. Laboratory tests showed that 86.4, 75.6, 71, 52.1, and 43% of the P. papatasi fed on Prosopis farcta, Capparis spinosa, Ricinus communis, Solanum nigrum, and Kochia indica, respectively; these plants were also attractive to sand flies in the field. None of the flies fed in the laboratory on Atriplex halimus, Tamarix nilotica, or Chenopodium ambrosioides, which were attractive in the field, and 2.3, 4.7, 10, and 14.2%, respectively, fed in the laboratory on the nonattractive Salsola vermiculata, Suaeda aegyptiaca, Solanum incanum, and Amaranthus retroflexus.