The cuticular hydrocarbons of Phlebotomus argentipes (Diptera: Phlebotominae) from field populations in northern India and Sri Lanka, and their change with laboratory colonization

The cuticular hydrocarbon profiles of wild caught, male Phlebotomus argentipes Annandale & Brunetti from Kandy, Sri Lanka, and Calcutta, India, were significantly different. Using discriminant functions based on three peaks from a gas-liquid chromatogram, 89% of specimens were correctly allocated to their parent sample. These results correlate with previously reported morpho-metric differences in this species from different parts of its range. Following laboratory colonization of the Kandy strain, the cuticular hydrocarbon profiles showed a progressive change, so that wild-caught and F5 generations could be completely distinguished by discriminant function anaysis, with the F1 and F 2 as intermediates.