Brain Cell Karyotypes of Six Species of New and Old World Sand Flies (Diptera: Psychodidae)

Brain cell karyotypes of four Old World and two New World sand fly species are described and compared. Phlebotomus colabaensis Young & Chalam and Phlebotomus argentipes Annandale & Brunetti have three pairs of chromosomes (2N = 6); none are heteromorphic. Lutzomyia spinicrassa Morales, Osorno, Osorno & Hoyos, Phlebotomus papatasi Scopoli, and Lutzomyia longipalpis Lutz & Neiva have eight chromosomes (2N = 8); none are heteromorphic. In contrast, Phlebotomus perniciosus Newstead has five pairs of chromosomes (2N = 10), one of which is a heteromorphic pair, X and Y. Cytogenetic similarities among certain other nematocerans and sand flies are discussed.