Resumen

OVIEDO, Milagros  y  FELICIANGELI, M. Dora. Chorionic sculpturing in eggshells from two populations of Lutzomyia longipalpis (Diptera: Psychodidae) from Venezuela. Bol Mal Salud Amb [online]. 2007, vol.47, n.2, pp.253-256. ISSN 1690-4648.

Scanning electron microscope (SEM) studies of eggshell morphology have shown that differences between related species of insects are reliable taxonomic markers. In the present study, the eggshell fine structure of two Venezuelan populations of Lutzomyia longipalpis s.l., vector of American visceral leishmaniasis, was examined by SEM. Newly laid eggs of L. longipalpis s.l.were obtained from a colony from Trujillo state a nd from field females collected in Guárico state. The chorionic egg sculpturing of both populations was characterized as a pattern of parallel ridging, but in the population from Trujillo the pattern was irregular and the ridges appeared connected, while those from Guarico were more regular and no connections were observed. As L. longipalpis s.l. is recognised as a species complex, further studies are needed to compare the chorionic sculpturing of eggs from different populations of L. longipalpis in Venezuela and other Neotropic countries, including L. pseudolongipalpis, the first described species in the complex, in order to clarify the significance of such differences and the usefulness of the eggshell chorionic sculpturing as a taxonomic tool in the complex.

Palabras clave : Lutzomyia longipalpis; chorionic sculpturing; Scanning electron microscope.