Laboratory investigations on the survival and fecundity of Phlebotomus duboscqi (Diptera, Psychodidae), a vector of Leishmania major in Kenya.

: The gonotrophic cycle, survival and reproductive potential of adult female Phlebotomus duboscqi, a vector of Leishmania major in Baringo District, Kenya was investigated in the laboratory. The sandflies were fed on hamster and apples as a sugar source and were placed in vials for oviposition. The feeding and care for oviposition was repeated for as long as the flies lived. The longest period P. duboscqi survived after taking the first blood meal was 45 days. The flies completed up to eight gonotropic cycles resulting into a very high fecundity rate. The implications of this in relation to disease transmission by P. duboscqi is discussed.