Morphological abnormalities in the cibarium of Lutzomyia evansi (Diptera: Psychodidae, Phlebotominae) caught in Trujillo, Venezuela

Introduction: Lutzomyia evansi is a recognized vector of Leishmania infantum in Colombia and Venezuela. Objective: To describe and illustrate the morphological abnormalities in Lu. evansifemales captured in a rural focus of visceral leishmaniasis in Trujillo, Venezuela. Materials and methods: Phlebotomine sand flies were collected using CDC light traps, Shannon traps and aspiration in resting places. The identification was performed according to Young & Duncan (1994) and drawings were made using a microscope with camara lucida. Results: Abnormalities in the cibarium of Lu. evansi were detected in 4 (0.12%) females of the 3,477 adults that were studied. Conclusion: Lutzomyia evansi can have uncommon morphological variants associated with an increase in the number of teeth in the cibarium and their arrangement, which may lead to errors in the taxonomic identification of anomalous specimens. The study of such deformities can serve to avoid taxonomic identification errors.