Grupo de Entomología, Instituto Nacional de Salud, Bogotá, D. C., Colombia; Centro de Investigaciones en Microbiología y Parasitología Tropical, Universidad de los Andes, Bogotá, D. C., Colombia.
Centro de Investigaciones en Microbiología y Parasitología Tropical, Universidad de los Andes, Bogotá, D. C., Colombia.
Biomedica. 2024 Nov 6;44(4):564-574. doi: 10.7705/biomedica.7124.
Pintomyia (Pifanomyia) longiflocosa is an endemic species from Colombia, found between the central and eastern Andes, and reported as one of the primary vectors of cutaneous leishmaniasis in coffee-growing zones of the country. This species is classified in the Townsendi series and can only be identified by the morphology of the male adults.
To determine the potential use of the fourth larval stage of the vector Pi. longiflocosa in morphological taxonomy based on the description of its chaetotaxy.
Pintomyia longiflocosa adults were captured in Campoalegre, Huila, and reared in the Entomology Laboratory at the Colombian Instituto Nacional de Salud. To identify the setae found in each corporal segment, 15 fourth-instar larvae were mounted on microscope slides using Canadian balm after being cleared with 10 % potassium hydroxide and saturated phenol. Additionally, five specimens were prepared for their observation by scanning electron microscopy.
Based on the description of Pi. longiflocosa, we established that all species of the subgenus Pifanomyia so far described have the same antennal morphology and clavate setae along their body. However, various setae present in Pi. longiflocosa are absent in Pi. youngi, suggesting differences among the larvae of the Townsendi series.
These results support the potential importance of morphological characters from the fourth larval instar, such as antennal morphology and chaetotaxy, specifically in closely related species that are cryptic in their adult stages.
长鬃飘拂沫蝉（Pifanomyia）是一种源自哥伦比亚的特有物种，分布于安第斯山脉中部和东部之间，被报告为该国咖啡种植区皮肤利什曼病的主要传播媒介之一。该物种被归入Townsendi 系列，只能通过雄性成虫的形态来识别。
根据其毛序描述，确定媒介长鬃飘拂沫蝉第四龄幼虫在形态分类学中的潜在应用。
在哥伦比亚国家卫生研究院的昆虫学实验室，从 Huila 省 Campoalegre 捕获长鬃飘拂沫蝉成虫并进行饲养。为了识别在每个体节上发现的刚毛，将 15 只第四龄幼虫用加拿大香脂在显微镜载玻片上固定，在使用 10%氢氧化钾和饱和苯酚进行澄清后使用。此外，还准备了五个标本用于扫描电子显微镜观察。
根据对长鬃飘拂沫蝉的描述，我们确定了迄今为止描述的所有 Pifanomyia 亚属物种都具有相同的触角形态和棒状刚毛。然而，长鬃飘拂沫蝉身上存在的各种刚毛在 Pi.youngi 中不存在，这表明 Townsendi 系列幼虫之间存在差异。
这些结果支持第四龄幼虫的形态特征的潜在重要性，例如触角形态和毛序，特别是在形态上隐蔽的近缘物种中。
