Phlebotomine sandflies were captured in rural settlement and periurban areas of the municipality of Guaraí in the state of Tocantins (
TO), an endemic area of American cutaneous leishmaniasis (
ACL). Forty-three phlebotomine species were identified, nine of which have already been recognised as
ACL vectors. Eleven species were recorded for the first time in
TO.
Nyssomyia whitmani
was the most abundant species, followed by
Evandromyia bourrouli
,
Nyssomyia antunesi
and
Psychodopygus complexus
. The Shannon-Wiener diversity index and the evenness index were higher in the rural settlement area than in the periurban area. The evaluation of different ecotopes within the rural area showed the highest frequencies of
Ev. bourrouli and
Ny. antunesi in chicken coops, whereas
Ny. whitmani predominated in this ecotope in the periurban area. In the rural settlement area,
Ev. bourrouli was the most frequently captured species in automatic light traps and
Ps. complexus was the most prevalent in Shannon trap captures. The rural settlement environment exhibited greater phlebotomine biodiversity than the periurban area.
Ps. complexus and
Psychodopygus ayrozai
naturally infected with
Leishmania (Viannia) braziliensis
were identified. The data identified
Ny. whitmani as a potential
ACL vector in the periurban area, whereas
Ps. complexus was more prevalent in the rural environment associated with settlements.
