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The study had the aim of characterizing the geographical distribution of Lutzomyia whitmani s.l. in the state of Maranhão, Northeastern Brazil. Between 1992 and 2005, 9,600 specimens (65.1% males and 34.9% females) were caught in the rural and urban zones of 35 municipalities in regions consisting of forests, savanna and mixed vegetation with coconut plantations, sandbanks and heath. Greater abundance was observed in areas surrounding dwellings (91.6%) than inside the dwellings (8.4%). The presence of the vector in different phytoregions and in rural and urban areas favors the transmission of tegumentary leishmaniasis in these environments. This taxon may constitute a complex of species in Maranhão, which can be confirmed by molecular biology studies.

We studied the distribution and diversity of Anopheles species in 123 counties (municipalities) in the State of Maranhão, Brazil. The basic method consisted of capturing female specimens inside and around human dwellings between 6 PM and 6 AM from January 1992 to December 2001. A total of 84,467 specimens belonging to 24 species were captured, with a predominance of A. triannulatus sensu lato (20,788), A. darlingi (19,083), A. nuneztovari (16,884), A. albitarsis s.l. (14,352), A. aquasalis (8.202), and A. evansae (2,885). The other 18 species together accounted for only 2.7% of the total. The species found in the most counties were A. albitarsis s.l. (109 counties), A. triannulatus s.l. (106), A. nuneztovari (93), A. darlingi (87), and A. evansae (64). The richness and wide distribution of anopheline species in Maranhão agree with the State's geographic position among Brazil's macro-regions, resulting in a mixed fauna with representative elements from these regions.