Lutzomyia shannoni
| Lutzomyia shannoni | |
|---|---|
| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Arthropoda |
| Class: | Insecta |
| Order: | Diptera |
| Family: | Psychodidae |
| Subfamily: | Phlebotominae |
| Genus: | Lutzomyia |
| Species: | L. shannoni |
| Binomial name | |
|
Lutzomyia shannoni Dyar, 1929 |
|
| Synonyms | |
|
Phlebotomus shannoni |
|
Phlebotomus shannoni
Lutzomyia shannoni is a species of fly in the subfamily Phlebotominae, the phlebotomine sand flies. It is native to the Americas from the southeastern United States to northern Argentina. It has a disjunct distribution, and is only found in regions with suitable climates, habitat types, and host animals. It is well known as a vector of the vesicular stomatitis virus, which causes the disease vesicular stomatitis in animals, particularly .
This insect belongs to the order Diptera, the true flies. The adult has wings less than 3 millimeters long, which are held erect. It has a narrow silvery-brown body and long legs. It is a sexually dimorphic species; the male has a slender abdomen with large terminalia at the end, and it lacks mandibles, while the female has mandibles and a wider abdomen. Only the female feeds on the blood of vertebrates, which requires mandibles. The abdomen becomes distended with the ingestion of a blood meal.
The dark brown eggs are elongated in shape, about 0.3 millimeters long by 0.1 millimeters wide. The newly emerged larva is up to about 0.7 millimeters in length, not counting the two long, thin caudal setae, which are twice the length of the body. The new larva is cream-colored with a light brown, well-developed head. By the second and third instars, there are four caudal setae. The fourth instar larva is around 5 millimeters long including the caudal setae, which are about as long as the body. The pupa resembles a butterfly chrysalis.
The habitat of the fly is generally hardwood forest. It is nocturnal, resting during the day in dark, humid spots such as holes in trees or animal burrows.Oviposition and larval development take place in similar spots, often in crevices filled with organic debris. In the United States it is common in the hollows of tree species such as laurel oak (Quercus laurifolia) and southern live oak (Q. virginiana).
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Wikipedia