Hourly activity of Lutzomyia ovallesi and L. gomezi (Diptera:Psychodidae), Vectors of cutaneous leishmaniasis in northcentral Venezuela.

The comparative hourly activity of Lutzomyia ovallesi (Ortiz) and L. gomezi (Nitzulescu), vectors of cutaneous leishmaniasis in Miranda State, Venezuela, was studied between November and March during 1991-1994 using a Shannon trap with a fluorescent light. Female abundance of L. ovallesi increased from 1800 to 2000 hours, plateaued from 2000 to 2400 hours, then decreased progressively. L. gomezi always exhibited maximum activity between 1900 and 2000 hours, then declined abruptly. The importance of these activity patterns in Leishmania transmission is discussed.