Hostname: page-component-84b7d79bbc-x5cpj Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-07-30T16:34:36.490Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false

Navigation of Lutzomyia longipalpis (Diptera: Psychodidae) under dusk or starlight conditions

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  09 March 2007

H.E. Mellor
Affiliation:
Chemical Ecology Group, Centre for Applied Entomology and Parasitology, School of Life Sciences, Keele University, Keele, StaffordshireST5 5BG, UK
J.G.C. Hamilton*
Affiliation:
Chemical Ecology Group, Centre for Applied Entomology and Parasitology, School of Life Sciences, Keele University, Keele, StaffordshireST5 5BG, UK
*
*Fax: 01782 583516 E-mail: j.g.c.hamilton@biol.keele.ac.uk

Abstract

The responses of male and female Lutzomyia longipalpis (Lutz & Neiva) to different wavelengths of light was tested by presenting the sandflies with two light sources simultaneously, a series of test wavelengths between 350–670 nm and a 400 nm control. To test whether L. longipalpis could discriminate between the test and control, three sets of experiments were carried out in which the test wavelengths were presented at higher, equivalent or lower intensity than the control. In all three experiments, ultra-violet (350 nm) and blue-green-yellow (490–546 nm) light was more attractive to L. longipalpis than the control wavelength. However, at low intensity, UV was less attractive, than equivalent or higher intensity UV light. At intensities equivalent to or higher than the control wavelength, ultra-violet light was more attractive than blue-green. Furthermore, at low intensity, green-yellow (546 nm) light was more attractive to males whereas blue-green (490 nm) was more attractive to females. Blue-violet (400 nm) and orange-red (600–670 nm) light were least attractive in all three sets of experiments. Response function experiments indicated that the responses were dependent on both intensity and wavelength and that therefore more than one photoreceptor must be involved in the response. The results indicated that L. longipalpis can discriminate between different wavelengths at different intensities and thus have true colour vision. It also suggests that L. longipalpis may be able to navigate at dusk or under moonlight or starlight conditions using light in the blue-green-yellow part of the spectrum. The difference in response of males and females to light in this region is interesting and may indicate the different ecology of the sexes at night. Overall, these results may have important implications for sandfly trap design.

Type
Review Article
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2003

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Allan, S.A., Day, J.F. & Edman, J.D. (1987) Visual ecology of biting flies. Annual Review of Entomology 32, 297316.Google Scholar
Bellingham, J. (1994) A comparative study of the spectral sensitivity, antennal sensilla, and landing preferences of the house-fly, Musca domestica (L.) (Diptera: Muscidae), and the lesser house-fly, Fannia canicularis (L.) (Diptera: Fanniidae). PhD thesis, University of Birmingham.Google Scholar
Bidlingmayer, W.L. (1994) How mosquitoes see traps: the role of visual responses. Journal of the American Mosquito Control Association 10, 272279.Google Scholar
Brown, P.E. & Anderson, M. (1996) Spectral sensitivity of the compound eye of the cabbage root fly, Delia radicum (Diptera: Anthomyiidae). Bulletin of Entomological Research 86, 337342.Google Scholar
Burkett, D.A., Butler, J.F. & Kline, D.L. (1998) Field evaluation of colored light-emitting diodes as attractants for woodland mosquitoes and other Diptera in north central Florida. Journal of the American Mosquito Control Association 14, 186195.Google Scholar
Cameron, M.M., Pessoa, F.A.C., Vasconcelos, A.W. & Ward, R.D. (1995) Sugar meal sources for the phlebotomine sandfly Lutzomyia longipalpis in Ceará State, Brazil. Medical and Veterinary Entomology 9, 263272.Google Scholar
Chaniotis, B.N. (1974) Sugar-feeding behaviour of Lutzomyia trapidoi (Diptera: Psychodidae) under experimental conditions. Journal of Medical Entomology 11, 7379.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Chaniotis, B.N. (1978) Phlebotomine sandflies (family Psychodidae). Surveillance and collection of arthropods of veterinary importance. pp. 1930 in Bram, R.A. (Ed.) Agriculture handbook, No. 518. Veterinary Services, Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service US Department of Agriculture.Google Scholar
Chaniotis, B.N. & Anderson, J.R. (1968) Age structure, population dynamics and vector potential of Phlebotomus in northern California. Part II. Field population dynamics and natural flagellate infections in parous females. Journal of Medical Entomology 5, 273292.Google Scholar
Chaniotis, B.N., Correa, M.A., Tesh, R.B. & Johnson, K.M. (1971) Daily and seasonal man-biting activity of phlebotomine sandflies in Panama. Medical and Veterinary Entomology 8, 415420.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Clements, A.N. (1999) The biology of mosquitoes. Volume 2. Sensory reception and behaviour. Wallingford, Oxon, CABI Publishing.Google Scholar
Coombe, P.E. (1981) Wavelength specific behaviour of the whitefly Trialeurodes vaporariorum (Homoptera: Aleyrodidae). Journal of Comparative Physiology 144, 8390.Google Scholar
Deane, L.M. (1956) Leishmaniose Visceral no Brazil. Estudos Sobre Reservatorios e Transmissores Realizados do Estados co Cearà. Servico Nacional de Educação, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.Google Scholar
Dougherty, M.J., Guerin, P., Ward, R.D. & Hamilton, J.G.C. (1999) Behavioural and electrophysiological responses of the phlebotomine sandfly Lutzomyia longipalpis (Diptera: Psychodidae) when exposed to canid host odour kairomones. Physiological Entomology 24, 251262.Google Scholar
Endler, J.A. (1993) The colour of light in forests and its implications. Ecological Monographs, 63,127.Google Scholar
Gibson, G. & Torr, S.J. (1999) Visual and olfactory responses of haematophagous Diptera to host stimuli. Medical and Veterinary Entomology 13, 223.Google Scholar
Gogala, M. (1978) Ecosensory functions in insects (with remarks on Arachnida). pp. 123153in Ali, M.A. (Ed.) Sensory ecology. New York, London, Plenum Press.Google Scholar
Green, C.H. (1986) Effects of colours and synthetic odours on the attraction of Glossina pallidipes and G. morsitans morsitans to traps and screens. Physiological Entomology 11, 411421.Google Scholar
Green, C.H. & Cosens, D. (1983) Spectral responses of the tsetse fly, Glossina morsitans morsitans. Journal of Insect Physiology 29, 795800.Google Scholar
Green, C.H. & Flint, S. (1986) An analysis of colour effects in the performance of the F2 trap against Glossina pallidipes Austen and G. morsitans morsitans Westwood (Diptera: Glossinidae). Bulletin of Entomological Research 76, 409418.Google Scholar
Hamilton, J.G.C. (1992) An improved pheromone bioassay for the sandfly Lutzomyia longipalpis. Transactions of the Royal Society of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene 86, 341.Google Scholar
Hamilton, J.G.C. & ElNaiem, D. (2000) Sugars in the gut of the sandfly Phlebotomus orientalis (Diptera: Psychodidae) from Dinder National Park, Eastern Sudan. Medical and Veterinary Entomology 14, 6470.Google Scholar
Hamilton, J.G.C. & Ramsoondar, T.M.C. (1994) Attraction of Lutzomyia longipalpis to human skin odours. Medical and Veterinary Entomology 8, 375380.Google Scholar
Jarvis, E.K. & Rutledge, L.C. (1992) Laboratory observations on mating and leklike aggregations in Lutzomyia longipalpis (Diptera: Psychodidae). Journal of Medical Entomology 29, 171177.Google Scholar
Kappmeier, K. & Nevill, E.M. (1999) Evaluation of a proposed odour-baited target to control the tsetse flies Glossina brevipalpis and Glossina austeni (Diptera: Glossinidae) in South Africa. Onderstepoort Journal of Veterinary Research 66, 327332.Google Scholar
Katsoyannos, B.I. & Kouloussis, N.A. (2001) Captures of the olive fruit fly Bactrocera oleae on spheres of different colours. Entomologia Experimentalis et Applicata 100, 165172.Google Scholar
Kelly, D.W. & Dye, C. (1997) Pheromones, kairomones and the aggregation dynamics of the sandfly Lutzomyia longipalpis. Animal Behaviour 53, 721731.Google Scholar
Kirschfeld, K. (1973) Das neurale superpositionsauge. Fortschritte der Zoologie 21, 229257.Google Scholar
Land, M.F., Gibson, G. & Horwood, J. (1997) Mosquito eye design: conical rhabdoms are matched to wide aperture lenses. Proceedings of the Royal Society, London B 264, 11831187.Google Scholar
Lewis, D.J. & Ward, R.D. (1987) The leishmaniases in biology and medicine. pp. 235262in Peters, W. & Killick-Kendrick, R. (Eds) Transmission of vectors, London, Academic Press.Google Scholar
Lythgoe, J.N. (1972) The adaptation of visual pigments to their photic environment. pp. 578603 in Dartnall, H.J.A. (Ed.) Handbook of sensory physiology, vol 7/1. Berlin, Heidelberg, New York, Springer Verlag.Google Scholar
Mellor, H.E., Anderson, M. & Hamilton, J.G.C. (1996) Spectral sensitivity in the eyes of male and female Lutzomyia longipalpis sandflies. Medical and Veterinary Entomology 10, 371374.Google Scholar
Menzel, R. (1979) Spectral sensitivity and colour vision in invertebrates. pp. 503580in Autrum, H. (Ed.) Handbook of sensory physiology, Vol. VII/6A. Berlin, Springer-Verlag.Google Scholar
Modi, G.B. & Tesh, R. (1983) A simple technique for mass rearing Lutzomyia longipalpis and Phlebotomus papatasi (Diptera: Psychodidae) in the laboratory. Journal of Medical Entomology 5, 568569.Google Scholar
Molyneux, D. & Ashford, R.W. (1983) The biology of Trypanosoma and Leishmania, parasites of man and domestic animals. London, Taylor and Francis.Google Scholar
Morrison, A.C., Ferro, C., Morales, A., Tesh, R.B. & Wilson, M.L. (1993) Dispersal of the sandfly Lutzomyia longipalpis (Diptera: Psychodidae) at an endemic focus of visceral leishmaniasis in Columbia. Journal of Medical Entomology 30, 427435.Google Scholar
Morton, I.E. & Ward, R.D. (1989) Laboratory response of female Lutzomyia longipalpis to a host and male pheromone over distance. Medical and Veterinary Entomology 3, 219223.Google Scholar
Muir, L.E., Thorne, M.J. & Kay, B.H. (1992) Aedes aegypti (Diptera: Culicidae) vision: spectral sensitivity and other perceptual parameters of the female fly. Journal of Medical Entomology 29, 278281.Google Scholar
Naka, K.I. & Rushton, W.A.H. (1966) An attempt to analyse colour reception by electrophysiology. Journal of Physiology 185, 556586.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Nigam, Y. & Ward, R.D. (1991) The effect of male sandfly pheromone and host factors as attractants for female Lutzomyia longipalpis (Diptera: Psychodidae). Physiological Entomology 16, 305312.Google Scholar
Quinnell, R.J. & Dye, C. (1994) An experimental study in the peridomestic distribution of Lutzomyia longipalpis (Diptera: Psychodidae). Bulletin of Entomological Research 84, 379382.Google Scholar
Quinnell, R.J., Dye, C. & Shaw, J.J. (1992) Host preference of the sandfly Lutzomyia longipalpis in Amazonian Brazil. Medical and Veterinary Entomology 6, 195200.Google Scholar
Schlein, Y. & Muller, G. (1995) Assessment of plant-tissue feeding by sandflies (Diptera: Psychodidae) and mosquitoes (Diptera: Culicidae). Journal of Medical Entomology 32, 822826.Google Scholar
Schumperli, R.A. (1973) Evidence for colour vision in Drosophila melanogaster through spontaneous choice behaviour. Journal of Comparative Physiology 86, 7794.Google Scholar
Service, M.W. (1993) Mosquito ecology: field sampling methods. 2nd edn. Barking, UK, Elsevier Science Publishers.Google Scholar
Sudia, W.D. & Chamberlain, R.W. (1962) Battery operated light trap, an improved model. Mosquito News 22, 126129.Google Scholar
Wall, R. & Fisher, P. (2001) Visual and olfactory cue interaction in resource-location by the blowfly, Lucilia sericata. Physiological Entomology 26, 212218.Google Scholar
Ward, R.D. & Hamilton, J.G.C. (2002) Chemical and auditory signals in Phlebotomine sandfly behaviour (Diptera: Psychodidae). pp. 6976in Killick-Kendrick, R. (Ed.) 2nd International Canine Leishmaniasis Forum, Seville, Spain.Google Scholar
Wehner, R. (1981) Spatial vision in arthropods. pp. 287616in Autrum, H. (Ed.) Vision in invertebrates, handbook of sensory physiology, vol. 7/6c. Berlin, Springer Verlag.Google Scholar
Weiss, H.B. (1943) The group behaviour of 14,000 insects to colours. Entomological News 54, 152156.Google Scholar
Weiss, H.B., Soraci, F.A. & McCoy, E.E. Jr (1942) The behaviour of certain insects to various wavelengths of light. Journal of the New York Entomological Society 50, 135.Google Scholar
White, R.H. (1985) Insect visual pigments and colour vision. pp. 431494in Kerkut, G.A. & Gilbert, L.I. (Eds) Comprehensive insect physiology, biochemistry and pharmacology, Vol. 6. Oxford, Pergamon Press.Google Scholar