The Usefulness of Bergmann's Rule for the Distinction of Members of Lutzomyia intermedia Species Complex (Diptera, Psychodidae, Phlebotominae)

Bergmann's rule says that homeotherm animals from higher altitudes and latitudes, or bred at lower temperatures, tend to be bigger, and the validity of this rule to most studied ectotherms was noted by D Atkinson, (1994). R.P. Lane made preliminary observations on the effect of temperature on the size of Lutzomyia longipalpis and CB Marcondes (1997) observed that altitude and latitude also modify several dimensions of L. intermedia s. s. Moreover, RP Lane and G Fritz (1986) observed that females of Phlebotomus papatasi are bigger than P. bergeroti females. However, the former occurs in lower altitudes than the other one, and they concluded that this apparent discordance from Bergmann's rule corroborates the distinction of these species.