SANDFLY STRATIFICATION ON TREE BUTTRESSES IN A COSTA-RICAN TROPICAL RAIN-FOREST

In humid forests tree buttresses and tree trunks are used as diurnal resting sites by phlebotomine sandflies (Diptera: Psychodidae). When several species are present on the same buttress, the sandfly species are spatially segregated resulting in a pattern of vertical stratification on the buttress within 100 cm of ground level. A change in the distribution of one species induces a change in the distribution of an adjacent species. This is demonstrated under both natural and experimental conditions. Observations of sandflies at dawn and dusk have revealed that the buttress is used as a swarming site; this behaviour provides our favoured explanation for the patterns of vertical stratification on tree buttresses.