Seasonal abundance, natural survival & resting behaviour of Phlebotomus papatasi (Diptera: Phlebotomidae) in Pondicherry.

A study was carried out on the seasonal abundance, natural survival and resting behaviour of Ph. papatasi in four ecologically different areas of Pondicherry. The average indoor resting density ranged from 2.25 (May 1989) to 16.70/man hour (October 1989). Ph. papatasi was observed to be predominantly endophilic in its resting behaviour. A significant positive correlation was observed between rainfall and relative density. The daily survival of adult population ranged from 0.893 to 0.949 and showed significant positive correlation with relative humidity. Examination of the abdomen of indoor resting females showed that the entire period of gonotrophic cycle was spent indoors.