Six new species of Dasyhelea Kieffer, 1911 from Argentinean and Chilean Patagonia are described and illustrated based on adults. Five of these species do not belong to any of the recognized groups found in the Americas. The remaining one, Dasyhelea pabloi sp. nov. is a typical member of the leptobranchia group and is the first record of a species from this group found in the Neotropical region.

Se describen e ilustran seis especies nuevas de Dasyhelea Kieffer, 1911 de la Patagonia argentina y chilena. Cinco de estas especies no pertenecen a ninguno de los grupos reconocidos para América. La especie restante, Dasyhelea pabloi sp. nov. es un miembro típico del grupo leptobranchia, lo que representa el primer registro en la Región Neotropical de una especie perteneciente a este grupo.

A new species of the Culicoides (Hoffmania) hylas species group, Culicoides baniwa Felippe-Bauer is described and illustrated based on a female specimen from the state of Amazonas, Brazil. A systematic key, wing photographs, diagramme of the legs pattern, table with numerical characters of females and a synopsis of the 11 species of the C. hylas group are presented. This paper further presents a new record of Culicoides pseudoheliconiae Felippe-Bauer out of the previously defined geographic distribution of the hylas species group, in the province of Misiones, Argentina.

The following five new species of Culicoides from Colombia are described, illustrated and placed to subgenus or species group: Culicoides antioquiensis, Culicoides gabrieli, Culicoides inermis, Culicoides micayensis and Culicoides nigrifemur. C. gabrieli is also known from Peru. When possible, their position in previously published keys is indicated and their features discussed in light of the most recent revisions. A list of 180 Culicoides species known (114) or suspected of being in Colombia (66) is given in a Table. Of these, 12 including the new species are recorded from Colombia for the first time.

In Argentina, the incidence of American Cutaneous Leishmaniasis (ACL) has shown a steady increase over the last few decades. In the Chaco biogeographical region, specifically, several outbreaks of ACL were recently reported in addition to the usual time-space scattering of ACL cases. However, little is known about the sandfly composition in the eastern, humid Chaco (HC) region or the western, dry Chaco (DC) region. Therefore, phlebotomine captures were performed throughout this region and an analysis of the distribution of reported ACL cases was conducted in order to assess the vector diversity in ACL endemic and epidemic scenarios in the Chaco region. The results support the hypothesis of two distinct patterns: (1) the DC, where Lutzomyia migonei was the most prevalent species, had isolated ACL cases and a zoonotic cycle; (2) the HC, where Lutzomyia neivai was the most prevalent species, had an increase in ACL incidence and outbreaks and an anthropozoonotic cycle. The epidemic risk in the Chaco region may be associated with the current climate trends, landscape modification, connection with other ACL foci, and Lu. neivai predominance and abundance. Therefore, changes in sandfly population diversity and density in the Chaco region are an indicator of emergent epidemic risk in sentinel capture sites.

Se describe e ilustra una especie nueva del grupo Forcipomyia (Forcipomyia) argenteola, F. (F.) donatoi, sobre la base de machos y hembras capturados en diversas localidades del norte de Argentina y Paraguay. Esta especie es comparada con F. (F.) marini y F. (F.) uramaensis, ambas de Venezuela, con las cuales presenta semejanzas morfológicas. Las especies Forcipomyia (F.) argenteola, F. (F.) calatheae y F. (F.) quatei se registran por primera vez en Argentina, y se provee, además, una clave para la identificación de las siete especies Neotropicales del grupo.

A new species of the Forcipomyia (Forcipomyia) argenteola group, F. (F.) donatoi, is described and illustrated from males and females collected in several localities of northern Argentina and in Paraguay. The new species is compared with the similar congeners F. (F.) marini and F. (F.) uramaensis, both from Venezuela. The following three species: Forcipomyia (F.) argenteola, F. (F.) calatheae and F. (F.) quatei are recorded for the first time from Argentina, and a key is presented for the identification of the seven Neotropical species of the group. Rev. Biol. Trop. 56 (2): 789-794. Epub 2008 June 30.

The following three species of Ceratopogonidae were collected breeding in the rhizomatous herb Phenakospermum guyannense Endl., 1833 in the vicinity of Manaus, Brazil, a new species, Culicoides (Mataemyia) felippebauerae Spinelli, Forcipomyia (Forcipomyia) genualis (Loew), and F. (Phytohelea) musae Clastrier & Dellécole. C. (M.) felippebauerae is described and illustrated as adult, pupa, and fourth instar larva, the adult compared with the adult of C. barthi Taveres and Souza and larva and pupa with those of C. dicrourus Wirth & Blanton and C. macieli Tavares & Ruiz, the only species with known immatures in the subgenus. The pupa and fourth instar larva of F. (P.) musae are described and illustrated and compared with immatures of F. (P.) edwardsi Saunders.

Se describe Palpomyia iberaensis n. sp., recolectada con trampa Malaise en Corrientes, Argentina, con base en una hembra que traía adheridos los órganos genitales del macho. Se ubica la especie en el grupo tibialis a pesar de tener parameros con puntas curvadas. Se compara la especie con su congénere brasileño Palpomyia mellichroa.

Palpomyia iberaensis n. sp., was collected by Malaise trap in the province of Corrientes, Argentina and its female and attached male genitalia are described and illustrated. The species is distinguished by the following combination of characters: females with dark brown legs except fore trochanter, basal 1/2 of fore femur, basal 2/3 of mid femur, fore and mid tibiae except extreme tip, yellowish brown; fore femur with four to five, mid femur with two ventral spines; abdomen lacking gland rods. Males with gonocoxite stout, with a conspicuous posteromesal pointed hook; gonostylus short, curved; parameres entirely divided, the distal portions slender with two posteriorly directed processes. This species is placed in the tibialis group in spite of the curious parameres without recurved tips. The species is compared with its congener Palpomyia mellichroa, from southeastern Brazil. Rev. Biol. Trop. 54 (3): 1067-1070. Epub 2006 Sept. 29.

A key is presented for the identification of the adults of 54 species of bloodsucking ceratopogonids, 51 of which are known inhabitants of Argentina, and Culicoides uruguayensis Ronderos, C. pifanoi Ortiz, and C. trilineatus Fox, which are known to occur in bordering Uruguay and Paraguay. Wing photographs are provided of females of the 45 species of Culicoides. Three new species of Culicoides Latreille from Northeastern Argentina are described and illustrated: C. austroparaensis Spinelli, C. bachmanni Spinelli, and C. williamsi Spinelli. The following six species are recorded for the first time from Argentina and/or bordering localities in Paraguay: Leptoconops brasiliensis (Lutz), C. gabaldoni Ortiz, C. ginesi Ortiz, C. pifanoi Ortiz, C. pseudocrescentis Tavares and Luna Dias, and C. trilineatus; and C. estevezae Ronderos and Spinelli is newly recorded from Misiones province of Argentina. C. lopesi Barretto is excluded from the Argentinean ceratopogonid fauna.

From September 1993 to August 2001, 7,190 phlebotomine were collected with CDC light trap in an endemic area for human leishmaniasis, in the departments of Misiones and Itapúa, Paraguay. Eleven species were identified: Lutzomyia neivai (93.7%), L. whitmani (4.1%), and L. fischeri, L. shannoni, L. migonei, L. misionensis, L. cortelezzii, L. pessoai, L. alphabetica, Brumptomyia avellari and B. guimaraesi (less than 1%). The last three species are new records for the country. The biodiversity and phlebotomine abundance were associated with the proximity to primary forest or gallery forest, but L. neivai was also found in peridomestic periurban environment. L. neivai was found throughout the year, and showed a period of higher activity from September to April (spring to fall) with a unimodal or bimodal pattern in relation to the annual rainy peaks during the summer. Background literature about phlebotomine from Paraguay has been reviewed.

The Culicoides communities have been analyzed between 1993/1998 in the area influenced by the Yacyretá Dam Lake (Paraná River, Argentina-Paraguay). Adults of Culicoides were collected monthly by using CDC light traps exposed for 24 h in 9 sampling sites located at both margins of the river; 21 species were recorded. Highest values of species richness were recorded during 1993/1994, being Quiteria and Corpus the sites with the higest number of species (10 and 11, respectively). The species diversity was elevated in Quiteria, Zaimán, Candelaria, Santa Tecla, Capitán Meza and Corpus (Shannon's diversity index 1.0-1.9) while Corateí, Ituzaingó and Aguapey showed less richness and diversity. The more abundant species were C. insignis, C. venezuelensis, C. leopoldoi, C. limai, C. flinti, C. debilipalpis, C. paraensis and C. guttatus. C. insignis, potential vector of bluetongue virus (BTV) to domestic and wild rumiants in the Neotropical region, is the predominant species in the area and was the only species widely distributed. C. paraensis, a proven vector of Oropouche virus to humans, is a common and abundant species. C. pusillus and C. lahillei, potential vectors of BTV and a filarial parasite, respectively, were occasionally collected. The taxonomic structure of communities was constant during the study period. The occasional species were not characteristic to one particular site and their presence could be related to non-intrinsic conditions.

A species of the Lutzomyia oswaldoi group is recorded from the Valcheta stream basin, Somuncura plateau, Patagonia. It represents the World southermost record of a species of Phlebotominae, apparently supporting the hypothesis about the relictual character of several components of the Somuncura plateau biota, particularly for those species belonging to the Paranaense lineages.

The first epidemic tegumentary leishmaniasis´ outbreak in the province of Misiones was recorded in 1998, in the locality of Puerto Esperanza. Phlebotominae collected in the region, previously or simultaneously to the outbreak (September 1993-December 1998) showed that the species Lutzomyia intermedia s. l. was prevalent (94%, n 6,150) at all the sites sampled with miniature light trap (10) and Shannon trap (3). L. pessoai, L. whitmani, L. migonei, L. shannoni, L. fischeri, L. misionensis, Brumptomyia avellari and B. guimaraesi were also captured. Sand fly distribution in time and space suggests that in the province of Misiones (1) the species already present before 1990 could give rise to the epidemic by the density/dispersion fluctuation of their local populations; (2) the abundance of L. intermedia s. l. was associated with environments with ecotones of primary-secondary vegetation, close to water bodies and with moderate human disturbance; (3) this species showed, towards the end of 1997, peaks of exceptional abundance, subsequent to rainfall peaks in 1996. This increase in abundance of potential vector sand fly populations close to houses with colonizable surroundings could have generated the 1998 epidemic outbreak.

A new species of the subgenus Euprojoannisia Brèthes, F. (E.) esteparia from steppes of the Chubut province in Argentinean Patagonia, is described and illustrated. Forcipomyia setosicrus (Kieffer), previously placed in the subgenus Forcipomyia Meigen, is herein recognized as belonging to the subgenus Euprojoannisia. The male of the later species is redescribed and the female described, the neotype is designated, and the broad distributional range of the species in Argentina and Chile is also stated

Se describe e ilustra una especie nueva del subgénero Euprojoannisia Brèthes, F. (E.) esteparia, capturada en estepas de la provincia de Chubut en Argentina. Forcipomyia setosicrus (Kieffer), previamente ubicada en el subgénero Forcipomyia Meigen, se reconoce como perteneciente al subgénero Euprojoannisia. Para esta última especie, se redescribe el macho y se describe la hembra, se designa el neotipo y se establece, asimismo, su amplio rango distribucional en Argentina y en Chile

A new species of Monohelea Kieffer, M. uruguayensis, is described and illustrated from a male specimen from Uruguay