Phytophagy and the Feeding Cycle of Phlebotomus Papatasi (Diptera: Psychodidae) Under Experimental Conditions1

Abstract

Phlebotomus papatasi fed selectively on 8 of 19 plant species tested. Feeding on aphid and coccid secretions was also recorded. Meals taken from leaves and stems by piercing in a “blood-feeding mode” directly entered the midgut. Meals taken from the plant surface in a“sugar-feeding mode” were located in the crop. More sand flies fed at night, either in artificial light or in the dark, than during the day, and more flies fed at night in the dark than in artificial light. Light caused a significant reduction in the proportion of day feeding on the caper plant, Capparis spinosa, whereas it elicited more feeding on 10% fructose solutions and baby mice. Results relevant to the maintenance of gut sterility and the possible significance of plant feeding in the epidemiology of leishmaniasis are discussed.