Morphometric separation of females of Phlebotomus (Phlebotomus) duboscqi and P (P) bergeroti (Diptera: Psychodidae)

Morphometric evaluation of 27 characters of allopatric females of the closely related species, Phlebotomus duboscqi Neveu-Lemaire and P. bergeroti Parrot, was made in Ethiopia with the aim of finding reliable means to distinguish sympatric specimens, By applying stepwise discriminant analysis, 100% correct classification was obtained using 8 characters. However, 2 of these characters, C3 and C4 (respective distances from sockets of the longest ascoids on segment 3 and 4 to distal margin of the segment) with the highest discriminant loadings, separated these 2 species with a success rate of 98%. It is recommended that these 2 characters be used in the routine identification of these species.