Morphometrical evidence for speciation within Bolivian Lutzomyia aragaoi (Diptera: Psychodidae)

For Bolivian specimens of Lutzomyia aragaoi (Costa Lima, A., 1932. Sobre os phlebotomos americanos (Diptera, Psychodidae). Mem. Inst. Oswaldo Cruz 26, 15-69), collected in the same light-traps, we show the existence of two distinct morphotypes distinguished by male parameres. These sympatric forms were observed in the Alto Beni, Subandean region of Bolivia, and in the North Beni, Amazonian region of Bolivia, two areas separated by large, sparsely forested, “llanos”. Univariate morphometric comparisons between these two forms showed non-overlapping variation of size for external structures of the genitalia (lateral lobe, style and coxite), allowing separation of them on the basis of a single measurement. Multivariate discriminant analysis of head and wing dimensions-excluding genitalia structures-grouped the insects according to their morphotype instead of their geographic origins. The two forms also showed different patterns in number and distribution of low mesepisternal setae. The existence of these two separate forms in close sympatry suggests reproductive isolation, hence a speciation process.