Vol. 43, no. 2 Journal of Vector Ecology 293 Diversity patterns of hematophagous insects in Atlantic forest fragments and human-modified areas of southern Bahia, Brazil Lilian S. Catenacci1,2,3,4, Joaquim Nunes-Neto2, Sharon L. Deem4, Jamie L. Palmer4, Elizabeth S. Travassos-da Rosa2, and J. Sebastian Tello5,6 1Curso de Medicina Veterinária, Federal University of Piauí State/CPCE, Bom Jesus, PI, Brazil,
[email protected] 2Division of Arbovirology and Hemorrhagic Fevers, Evandro Chagas Institute, Anannindeua, PA, Brazil 3Royal Zoological Society of Antwerp, Centre for Research and Conservation, Antwerp, Belgium 4Saint Louis Zoo, Institute for Conservation Medicine, St. Louis, MO, U.S.A. 5Missouri Botanical Garden, Center for Conservation and Sustainable Development, St. Louis, MO, U.S.A. 6Pontificia Universidad Católica del Ecuador, Escuela de Biología, Quito, Ecuador Received 7 June 2018; Accepted 16 August 2018 ABSTRACT: There have been several important outbreaks of mosquito-borne diseases in the Neotropics in recent years, particularly in Brazil. Some taxa are also considered to be indicators of environmental health. Despite the importance of understanding insect abundance and distribution to the understanding of disease dynamics and design strategies to manage them, very little is known about their ecology in many tropical regions. We studied the abundance and diversity of mosquitoes and sand flies in the Bahia State of Brazil, a point of origin for arbovirus outbreaks, including Zika and Chikungunya fever. During 2009-2014, 51 mosquito taxa were identified, belonging to three dipteran families, Ceratopogonidae, Culicidae, and Psychodidae. The family Culicidae, including the Sabethini tribe, were the most abundant (81.5%) and most taxa-rich (n=45).