The Phlebotominae are a subfamily of the family
Psychodidae. In several countries, their common name is
sandfly, but that name is also applied to other
flies. The Phlebotominae include many
genera of blood-feeding (
hematophagous) flies, including the primary
vectors of
leishmaniasis,
bartonellosis and
pappataci fever. In the
New World, leishmaniasis is spread by sand flies in the genus Lutzomyia, which commonly live in caves, where their main hosts are
bats. In the
Old World, sand flies in the genus Phlebotomus spread leishmaniasis.
Phlebotomine females, and only females, suck blood from various
mammals,
reptiles and
birds. Some
species are selective, whereas others bite any suitable
host they find. Some species can produce one clutch of eggs before their first blood meal; such females are said to practise autogenous or partly autogenous reproduction. Other species need a blood meal before they can produce any eggs at all; they are said to practise
anautogenous reproduction. As far as is known, all species need a blood meal for every following clutch of eggs.
Proteins and other
nutrients in the blood they eat enable the female to produce the proteins and fats necessary for them to produce eggs after using up their bodily food stores.[2] In feeding on blood, the flies use their mouthparts to initiate bleeding from the host. They then suck up the exposed blood. Like practically all blood-feeding parasites, they inject biochemicals that inhibit blood clotting, plus some that stimulate host
mast cells to produce
histamine; this distends
capillary vessels, thereby promoting blood flow.
One blood meal can support the production of about 100 eggs. Females lay their eggs in humid soil rich in organic matter. Laboratory colonies of various phlebotomine sand fly species have been established for experimental study.[3]
Sand flies are small; a body size of about 3mm in length is typical for many species, which aids them in escaping notice. Their bite is not always felt, but leaves a small round, reddish bump that starts itching hours or days later. Use of insect repellent is recommended in areas where sand flies are present.
Distribution
Phlebotomine sand flies can be found between the latitudes 50°N and 40°S, but are absent from New Zealand and the Pacific Islands.[4]
Both sand fly sexes are found to consume
plant-derived
sugar meals as a source of energy, and certain plants upon which sand flies feed can shorten their life or reduce their capacity for transmitting leishmaniasis. Therefore, the structure of plant communities is found to influence the transmission dynamics of sand fly-borne
diseases.[citation needed]
A
next-generation sequencing (NGS)–based assay for determining the source of sand fly plant meals, based upon the chloroplast DNA gene ribulose bisphosphate carboxylase large chain (rbcL), found that several sand fly species, vectors of leishmaniasis in different parts of the world, prefer feeding on Cannabis sativa. The plant DNA detected in sand flies was from plant cells damaged by their mouthparts as they pierced plant tissues to reach the
phloem.[citation needed]
Pollinator insects, including
mosquitoes, are attracted to plants that emit volatile
molecules such as
terpene, and sixty-eight volatile compounds were detected and partially characterized in
pollen and vegetative parts of Cannabis sativa by
GC-MS. As
cannabinoids from C. sativa exhibit
antimicrobial activity against some
bacteria and
fungi, and a potent
antileishmanial, and since thriving gut
microbiomes are crucial for the development of Leishmania infections in the sand fly gut, a microbicidal effect could harm the
infections.[citation needed]
Therefore, a novel approach for controlling blood-sucking mosquitoes and sand flies could be to exploit their plant feeding habit by utilizing attractive toxic sugar baits (
ATSBs) that emit
olfactory cues to attract the sand flies and mosquitoes through the addition of C. sativaplant extracts, augmenting the efficacy of ATSBs for controlling sugar-questing disease
vectors.[5]
^Azar, Nel, Solignac, Paicheler, Bouchet. "New genera and species of psychodoid flies from the Lower Cretaceous amber of Lebanon". Palaeontology.
^Braverman, Y. Nematocera (Ceratopogonidae, Psychodidae, Simuliidae and Culicidae) and control methods Rev. sci. tech. Off. int. Epiz., 1994,13(4), 1175-1199
^
abcdeGalati, E.A.B. (1995). "Phylogenetic systematics of Phlebotominae (Diptera) with emphasis on American groups". Boletín de Dirección de Malariologia y Ssaneamiento Ambiental. 35 (Suplemento 1): 133–142.
^Azar, D.; Nel, A.; Solignac, M.; Paicheler, J.-C.; Bouchet, F. (1999). "New genera and species of psychodoid flies from the Lower Cretaceous amber of Lebanon". Palaeontology. 42 (6): 1101–1136.
doi:
10.1111/1475-4983.00112.
S2CID84535813.
^
abcdeBarretto, M.P. (1962). "Novos subgeneros de Lutzomyia Franca, 1924 (Diptera, Psychodidae, subfamilia Phlebotominae)". Revista do Instituto de Medicina Tropical de São Paulo. 4: 91–100.
^Poinar Jr, George. "Palaeomyia burmitis gen. n., sp. n.(Phlebotominidae: Diptera) a new genus of Cretaceous sandflies with evidence of blood sucking habits". Proceedings of the Entomological Society of Washington.
^Mangabeira, O. (1941). "5a contribuição ao estudo dos Flebotomus. Viannamyia n. subg. (Diptera: Psychodidae)". Memórias do Instituto Oswaldo Cruz. 36 (251–262).