Los insectos relacionados con la transmisión de los patógenos causantes de las leishmaniasis han sido poco estudiados en la Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta, Colombia, incluido el departamento de Magdalena, donde a la fecha están registradas trece especies del género Lutzomyia. En la presente nota se informa el hallazgo de tres especies y un subgénero adicionales en la región. Se recolectaron 885 flebotomíneos en Seywiaka y las veredas Las Tinajas y Calabazo, estribaciones de la Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta (117-130 m s.n.m.). El 84 % de los ejemplares se obtuvieron con trampa CDC, el 11 % con trampa Shannon y el 5 % fueron capturados, en reposo, con un dispositivo eléctrico de succión. Se identificaron nueve especies, Lu. gomezi, Lu. panamensis, Lu. trinidadensis, Lu. carpenteri, Lu. evansi, Lu. dysponeta, Lu. dubitans, Lu. shannoni, y Lu. micropyga, la más abundante fue Lu. gomezi (69 %), seguida por Lu. panamensis (14 %). También se recolectaron ejemplares de la serie Lu. osornoi del subgénero Helcocyrtomyia. Entre el material hallado sobresalen Lu. carpenteri, Lu. dubitans y Lu. dysponeta como primeros registros para el departamento del Magdalena, además de Lu. (Helcocyrtomyia) sp., que representa el primer informe del subgénero en el Caribe colombiano.

Phlebotomine sand flies, vectors of leishmaniasis, have not been well studied in the Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta, and likewise, are not well known in other regions of the Department of Magdalena, Colombia. To date only thirteen species of Lutzomyia have been recorded as occurring in the Department. The present note adds three species and includes an additional subgenus. Collections were made in the lower foothills of the Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta at elevations ranging from 117-130 m in the communities of Seywiaka, Las Tinajas and Calabazo. Eighty-four percent of the 885 phlebotomines sand flies collected were obtained from CDC light traps, 11 % from Shannon trap and 5 % from typical resting sites using an electric aspirator. The following nine species were identified from the collections: Lutzomyia gomezi, Lu. panamensis, Lu. trinidadensis, Lu. carpenteri, Lu. evansi, Lu. dysponeta, Lu. dubitans, Lu. shannoni, and Lu. micropyga. The most abundant species were Lu. gomezi and Lu. panamensis, which, respectively, accounted for 69 % and 14 % of the specimens. Of the nine species, Lu. carpenteri, Lu. dubitans and Lu. dysponeta represent new records for the Department of Magdalena. Also, a few female specimens were encountered of a species belonging to the Lu. osornoi series of the subgenus Helcocyrtomyia, which represents the first record of this subgenus in the Caribbean region of Colombia.

El estudio de mosquitos de la subfamilia Culicinae (Diptera: Culicidae) en Colombia, ha sido limitado a pesar de su importancia en salud pública. El presente estudio determinó las especies de esta subfamilia colectadas en Guadua angustifolia en ecosistemas de influencia cafetera. Se resaltan tres tipos de criaderos: tocón, entrenudo perforado y recipiente. Se registraron nueve especies de las cuales dos son nuevos registros para Colombia (Orthopodomyia albicosta y Wyeomyia oblita), cinco son nuevos registros para los departamentos visitados (Culex secundus, Cx. antunesi, Limatus durhami, Trichoprosopon digitatum y Sabethes undosus) y dos (Trichoprosopon sp. del complejo Pallidiventer y Toxorhynchites sp.) se encuentran en proceso de estudio. Se determinó que existe relación entre las especies encontradas y el volumen de agua contenida y la altura sobre el nivel del suelo medida en los criaderos. De las especies reportadas, Tr. digitatum y Li. durhami están registradas en la literatura como posibles vectores de arbovirus. Toxorhynchites se destaca por agrupar especies cuyas larvas son depredadoras. Los resultados realzan la importancia de la guadua como criadero de diferentes mosquitos, incluyendo algunas especies importantes en salud pública.

The study of culicine mosquitoes (Diptera: Culicidae) in Colombia, has been limited even though this subfamily is important in public health. This study aimed to determine the species of Culicinae breeding in stands of Guadua angustifolia in areas with coffee plantations. Three breeding sites were distinguished: guadua stumps, perforated internodes and containers. Nine mosquito species were identified which two are new records for Colombia (Orthopodomyia albicosta, Wyeomyia oblita), five new records for the departments (Culex secundus, Cx. antunesi, Limatus durhami, Trichoprosopon digitatum and Sabethes undosus). Two others are under current study (Trichoprosopon sp. part of the Pallidiventer complex, and Toxorhynchites sp.). There was a relationship between the species found and the water volume and height above ground, measured for each of the breeding sites. Two of the species, Tr. digitatum and Li. durhami, are reported in literature as potential vectors of arboviral agents; Toxorhynchites is grouped with species whose larvae are predators. The results support an important role for guadua as breeding sites for various mosquitoes, including some species of public health importance.

Two snapshot surveys to establish the diversity and ecological preferences of mosquitoes (Diptera: Culicidae) in the terra firme primary rain forest surrounding the Tiputini Biodiversity Station in the UNESCO Yasuní Biosphere Reserve of eastern Amazonian Ecuador were carried out in November 1998 and May 1999. The mosquito fauna of this region is poorly known; the focus of this study was to obtain high quality link-reared specimens that could be used to unequivocally confirm species level diversity through integrated systematic study of all life stages and DNA sequences. A total of 2,284 specimens were preserved; 1,671 specimens were link-reared with associated immature exuviae, all but 108 of which are slide mounted. This study identified 68 unique taxa belonging to 17 genera and 27 subgenera. Of these, 12 are new to science and 37 comprise new country records. DNA barcodes [658-bp of the mtDNA cytochrome c oxidase ( COI ) I gene] are presented for 58 individuals representing 20 species and nine genera. DNA barcoding proved useful in uncovering and confirming new species and we advocate an integrated systematics approach to biodiversity studies in future. Associated bionomics of all species collected are discussed. An updated systematic checklist of the mosquitoes of Ecuador (n = 179) is presented for the first time in 60 years.

Lutzomyia evansi (Núñez-Tovar) is the vector of the parasite Leishmania infantum in rural zones of Northern Colombia. An attempt was made to determine the origin of a recently detected urban population of Lutzomyia evansi by genetically characterizing specimens from seven geographically distinct localities in the Colombian Caribbean. Insect specimens were collected in rural and urban environments of areas endemic for visceral leishmaniasis or free of the disease. Nine polymorphic sites, nine nucleotide haplotypes and a single aminoacid haplotype were found within the 315 bp fragment sequenced, corresponding to the 3' end of the cytochrome b mitochondrial gene. Paired genetic distances between the haplotypes, estimated with the Kimura two-parameters model, varied from 0,0032-0,0194. Analysis revealed low genetic variability between specimens from urban and rural localities. Several of the sand flies collected in the city of Sincelejo (department of Sucre), where autochthonous visceral leishmaniasis cases have appeared in recent years, were genetically similar to those of a rural focus of the disease (El Contento, on the neighboring department of Córdoba). The epidemiological implications of this finding for Leishmania infantum transmission in the Colombian Caribbean are discussed.

Lutzomyia evansi (Núñez-Tovar) es el insecto transmisor del parásito Leishmania infantum en zonas rurales del norte de Colombia. Con el propósito de establecer el probable origen de una población urbana del vector, detectada en años recientes, se caracterizaron genéticamente ejemplares de Lutzomyia evansi de siete localidades geográficas del Caribe Colombiano. Los flebotomíneos fueron recolectados en ambientes rurales y urbanos de zonas endémicas y no endémicas de leishmaniasis visceral. Dentro del fragmento secuenciado de 315 pb correspondiente al extremo 3' del gen mitocondrial citocromo b, se encontraron nueve sitios polimórficos, nueve haplotipos nucleotídicos y un solo haplotipo aminoacídico. Las distancias genéticas pareadas entre los haplotipos, estimadas con el modelo de Kimura de dos parámetros, oscilaron entre 0,0032 y 0,0194. El análisis reveló la existencia de una baja variabilidad genética entre especímenes de localidades urbanas y rurales. Varios de los flebotomíneos recolectados en la zona urbana de la ciudad de Sincelejo, departamento de Sucre, donde en años recientes aparecieron casos autóctonos de leishmaniasis visceral, fueron genéticamente similares a los de El Contento, en el cercano departamento de Córdoba, foco rural de la enfermedad. Se discuten las implicaciones epidemiológicas de este hallazgo para la transmisión de Leishmania infantum en el Caribe Colombiano.