Sugar meals and longevity of the sandfly Phlebotomus papatasi in an arid focus of Leishmania major in the Jordan Valley

Yosef Schlein*, Raymond L. Jacobson

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

63 Scopus citations

Abstract

The sugar diet and life-span of Phlebotomus papatasi were studied in a typical zoonotic focus of Leishmania major in an add area of the Jordan Valley during 1996-1997. Plant-tissue residues (cellulose particles) were identified in the stained guts of 23% of P. papatasi and significant amounts of sugar were found in the gut of 16%. Feeding on different plants was demonstrated by using their branches, suffused with cellulose stain; as baits in the field. Ingested, stained cellulose was detected in 10% of the sandflies (6% of males, 12.5% of females) caught near bait-branches of common local plants, mostly Chenopodiaceae. The similar rates of plant and sugar feeding, with the observed absence of aphids (ruling out the availability of honeydew), implied that the sugar meals of sandflies were obtained directly from plants. The relative paucity of sugar meals in P. papatasi coincided with a short life-span, evaluated by daily growth lines in the cuticle. The age of the oldest females was estimated to be 8 days, and 6 days for males. Under local conditions, the first gonotrophic cycle can be completed in 6 days and the usual transmission of L. major is apparently afterwards, when females ingest blood to initiate another cycle. Only about 9% of P. papatasi females survived > 6 days.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)65-71
Number of pages7
JournalMedical and Veterinary Entomology
Volume13
Issue number1
DOIs
StatePublished - Feb 1999

Keywords

  • Age-grading
  • Jordan Valley
  • Leishmaniasis vector
  • Phlebotominae
  • Phlebotomus papatasi
  • Plant-feeding
  • Sandflies
  • Sugars

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