Protocol 5 -Hematophagous Insects

Coordinator:
Dr. Inocêncio de Sousa Gorayeb  • E-mail: gorayeb@museu-goeldi.br
Protocol researchers:
East Pará - Dr. Marlisson Augusto Costa Feitosa (UFOPA)
Maranhão - Dr. José Macário Rebelo (UFMA)
Mato Grosso - Dr. Ostenildo Ribeiro Campos (UNEMAT/AF)
Amapá - Dr. Allan Kardec Ribeiro Galardo (IEPA)

Groups of interest and diversity of species evaluated per grid:

Culicidae (200 species), in addition to Lutzomyia (Psychodidae: Phlebotominae) and Ceratopogonidae.

Biological role of the group: The Culicidae are the most studied Diptera from an eco-epidemiological point of view.  This is very likely due to the circumstances in which animal organisms transmit multiple infections to humans and domestic animals. The family consists of approximately 3600 species (CROSSKEY, 1988). The families are distributed across approximately 40 genera, the Neotropical region having the highest level of endemicity, with 27% of these groups being restricted to this particular biographic region (WARD, 1982).

Technique 1. Light Traps

Sand flies and midges (ceratopogonidae) will be obtained through the use of CDC traps, the collections being conducted by using CDC-type light traps during the hours of 18:00 to 06:00 within the soil strata and the "sub-canopy".

Sampling Unit: A trap set out over a period of 12 hours (6 p.m. to 6 a.m.).

Sampling design: Three CDS traps will be assembled in each plot, for two days, in accordance with the design in 9 plots. A Shannon trap will also be set out in each selected plot, for a period of two nights. The environments of aquatic plots, four in number, will also be taken into consideration during the distribution of the traps. The CDC sampling process will take a total of 12 hours.

Technique 2. Collections with entomological nets

Manual collections using nets will take place throughout the day (from 7:00 to 12:00 hrs and 14:00 to 17:00 hrs), by two captors over a period of two days within each of the plots. The choice of time for the capture process will be chosen based on the behaviour and activity of the species being studied (DEGALLIER et al.,1990).

Additional important environmental data for this group: Temperature, rainfall, relative air humidity and wind speed.

The method of preserving the collected material: After being collected within the field, the specimens will be packed away in plastic containers, labeled with the following plot information: collection environment, coordinates and plot number. Once in the laboratory, the collected specimens will be identified then pinned, mounted and labeled. The collected samples will be deposited in INPA, MPEG and other trustworthy Amazon depository collections.

Activities that could prejudice protocol development: There are no restrictions on culicidae collections.