Aphid derived sugars in the neotropical sandfly--Lutzomyia peruensis
Wallbanks, K.R.; Moore, J.S.; Bennett, L.R.; Soren, R.; Molyneux, D.H.; Carlin, J.M.; Perez, J.E.
Tropical Medicine and Parasitology Official Organ of Deutsche Tropenmedizinische Gesellschaft and of Deutsche Gesellschaft für Technische Zusammenarbeit 42(1): 60-62
1991
ISSN/ISBN: 0177-2392 PMID: 2052859 Document Number: 386073
It is known that a sugar meal is a prerequisite for the transmission of Leishmania by sandflies in the laboratory. Lutzomyia peruensis the proven vector of Leishmania peruviana, was caught by aspiration from crevices in rocks near Chaute in the Rimac Valley, Peru, cryopreserved and analysed for sugars using HPLC. The major sugars present are glucose and fructose as well as smaller amounts of sucrose, maltose, melibiose, turanose and a trisaccharide, probably raffinose. The results indicate that the major carbohydrate sugar meal of Lutzomyia peruensis is aphid honeydew. This is the first report of such behaviour in Neotropical sandflies.