Open AccessComparison of In Vivo Host Animals as Blood-Feeding Source for Laboratory Rearing of the Sandfly Vector Phlebotomus argentipes(Diptera: Psychodidae)
Author(s) -
Vijay Kumar,
Shreekant Kesari,
Krishna Kumari,
B. Krishnakumari,
R. Venugopalan,
Pradeep Das
Publication year - 2011
Publication title -
annals of the entomological society of america
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.671
H-Index - 72
eISSN - 1938-2901
pISSN - 0013-8746
DOI - 10.1603/an10045
Subject(s) - sandfly , psychodidae , biology , leishmania donovani , visceral leishmaniasis , vector (molecular biology) , leishmaniasis , phlebotomus , leishmania , parasite hosting , zoology , host (biology) , veterinary medicine , ecology , immunology , biochemistry , world wide web , computer science , gene , recombinant dna , medicine
Visceral leishmaniasis (VL) or kala-azar is transmitted by parasite-infected sandflies. The female sandfly Phlebotomus argentipes Annandale & Brunetti (Diptera: Psychodidae) carries the protozoan parasite Leishmania donovani (Kinetplastida: Trypanosomatidae) in its gut and injects the pathogen along with its saliva into the bloodstream of a human host. This article reports the successful setup of a very productive laboratory insectarium-based P. argentipes colony, by optimizing breeding conditions and choice of laboratory host animal for blood feeding of the female sandflies. The work also suggests that the source of blood feeding is a critical parameter for egg laying and maturation, which are essential for the maintenance of laboratory colonies of such hematophagous insects.
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