[Phlebotomine sand flies in the State of Tocantins, Brazil (Diptera: Psychodidae)].

Between 1997-1998, the authors carried out sporadic collection of sand flies in the municipalities of Paraíso de Tocantins, Monte do Carmo, Porto Nacional and Monte Santo all in the Tocantins State of northern Brazil. Human bait was used in Monte Santo and a battery operated light trap in other municipalities. The ecotypes chosen for the traps were in the peridomiciles, inside the houses, in the forest and the orchard. We identified 2,677 sand flies, belonging to 32 species. The most abundant species of sand flies were Lutzomyia whitmani, Lutzomyia longipalpis, Lutzomyia carmelinoi, Lutzomyia evandroi, Lutzomyia longipennis and Lutzomyia antunesi. Collections from the forest showed greater diversity of species, while the largest number of sand flies were caught around the houses. Several species known or suspected to be vectors of Leishmania in other regions of Brazil were captured.