Middle East DVEP - Armed Forces Pest Management Board

human and animal structures. Abandoned structures and their vegetative overgrowthoften become attractive wild rodent habitats and foci of rural CL.Vegetation is important as a sugar source for both male and female sand flies. Sugar isrequired for females developing parasite infections. Eggs are developed after abloodmeal and are deposited in dark, humid, protected areas. They develop into minutecaterpillar-like larvae that feed on mold spores and organic debris. The larvae go throughfour instars and then pupate near larval feeding sites. Development from egg to adult is30 to 45 days, depending on feeding conditions and environmental temperatures.Phlebotomine sand fly eggs, larvae and pupae have seldom been found in nature,although exhaustive studies and searches have been made. The adult female has beenobserved to spread eggs around rather than ovipositing in single egg laying sites. Thelarvae are believed to be widely distributed in endemic environments but are probablybelow the ground surface in termite mounds, rodent burrows or other tunnels wheretemperature, humidity and mold growth provide ideal growing conditions. Because oftheir minute and delicate nature, larvae have seldom been collected in the wild. The duskto dawn movement of adults is characterized by flight just above the ground surface toavoid wind. Adult sand flies generally do not travel great distances, and most flights arebelieved to be less than 100 meters. The females fly in a low hopping flight just abovethe ground in search of rodent hosts. Both male and female sand flies seek plant sugarsfrom local vegetation. Sand fly habitats in the region range in altitude from desert areasbelow sea level to 2,800 m in the mountains. Where seasonal temperature and rainfallchanges occur, large numbers of adult sand flies are common in the warmer months ofApril through October, especially after rains. However, Le. tropica peak seasonalincidence occurs during January and February.Vector sand flies have short flight ranges. Their dusk to dawn flights coincide with thenomadic activity of peoples of the region, who often travel at night to avoid the extremeheat of daytime hours. Areas with some vegetation, and cliffs, rock outcroppings, orother geologic formations that allow for suitable hiding places and daytime resting sitesare important habitats. Exact information on reservoirs and vectors will require moreextensive study in many countries of the region. Vast areas of these countries remainunsurveyed for vectors and disease. When searches are made, sand fly vectors are oftenfound in areas where they were previously unknown.Vector Surveillance and Suppression. Sand flies may be collected by a variety ofmethods. Light traps used for mosquito collection should be modified with fine meshscreens because the small size of phlebotomine sand flies allows them to pass throughnormal mosquito netting. Sticky traps prepared with paper and vegetable or plant oil areuseful and may be placed near rodent burrows, rock crevices, building debris, in andaround buildings or constructed military earthworks, and in local vegetation where sandflies are likely to rest during daytime hours. The sticky paper trap is also useful wherelight traps are either unavailable or their use is limited due to night security measures.Aspirator collections by trained personnel from sand fly resting sites are useful but laborintensive. Identification requires a microscope and some training; however, with someexperience, sorting and identification by color and size is quite accurate using minimal113