Color preference of Sergentomyia minuta (Diptera: Phlebotominae) determined using Flebocollect do it yourself light traps based on LED technology

Abstract

Whether phlebotomine sand fies show a preference for diferent light colors remains controversial. As light-capture methods are widely used to study sand fies, knowing the visual stimuli they respond to could help the design of novel control tools to prevent their attraction to hosts. We have detected a signifcant preference of male Sergentomyia minuta for green and red light sources. Accordingly, male S. minuta were 2.16 and 2.01 times more likely to be lured by Flebocollect model traps with green and red diode-lights, respectively, than the commercial CDC traps. Flebocollect traps are homemade light traps developed through citizen science. Dipterans are widely considered unable to distinguish the color red so this fnding was unexpected. To our knowledge, this is the frst description of a color preference in a species of the genus Sergentomyia. Our research also confrms the great potential of Flebocollect light traps for use in medical entomology studies