Supplementary material for the Journal of the European Mosquito Control Association: <b>Confirmation of the occurrence of Phlebotomine sand flies (Diptera: Psychodidae, Phlebotominae) in Belgium, Luxembourg Province</b>

The distribution and abundance of Phlebotomine sand flies north of the Alps is poorly known. In Belgium, <i>Phlebotomus mascittii</i> was reported only once in the early 2000s from two locations in the southeastern part of the country. During a VectorNet field survey in 2023, no sand flies were detected in the provinces of Liège, Luxembourg, and Namur. As an extension of this investigation, a brief survey was conducted in August 2024 across four localities in the province of Luxembourg, Belgium. Using 16 light trap-nights and one resting catch, a single male specimen of <i>Ph. mascittii</i> was captured in a light trap placed in a stable/house ruin at Beauregard, commune of Rouvroy. This finding confirms the presence of <i>Ph. mascittii</i> in Belgium, 22-23 years after its initial finding. This detection highlights the need for further investigation on sand fly occurrence in Belgium, to determine species diversity, distribution and abundance.