Lutzomyia antunesi
has been commonly reported in outbreaks of cutaneous leishmaniasis (CL) in the Orinoquia region of Colombia. The bionomics of this species were studied in the municipality of Villavicencio (Meta, Colombia). Sandflies were captured over the course of one week per month for one year in intradomiciliary, peridomiciliary and extradomiciliary housing areas. The captures were performed from 06:00 pm-06:00 am using CDC light traps and the females were processed for polymerase chain reaction (PCR) to detect Leishmania spp. A total of 22,097 specimens and 19 species were captured of which
Lu. antunesi (89%) and
Lutzomyia walkeri
(5%) were the most abundant. Other species recognised as anthropophilic (
Lutzomyia panamensis
,
Lutzomyia gomezi
,
Lutzomyia flaviscutellata
and
Lutzomyia fairtigi
) were present in very low abundance (< 2%). Natural infection with Leishmania spp was detected using PCR in
Lu. antunesi,
Lu. panamensis and
Lu. flavicutellata, showing infection rates of 1%, 4.8% and 7.5%, respectively. The present paper provides information on various ecological aspects of
Lu. antunesi. An analysis of seasonality shows that this species increases in abundance in the hottest months (December, January and February), directly correlating with the maximum temperature and inversely correlating with precipitation. The natural infection rate is associated with the peaks of highest abundance.
