Currently, there are 1,047 sand fly species described worldwide. Brazil holds the greatest species richness in the Americas. The genus Sciopemyia Barretto, 1962 consists of eight species with Sciopemyia sordellii as its type species. Described by Shannon & Del Ponte in 1927, based on a single male specimen from Argentina, it has two junior synonymies: Phlebotomus nordestinus Mangabeira, 1942 and Phlebotomus longicornutus Floch & Abonnenc, 1943. The female of Sc. sordellii was not formally described and, until now, the female described as Ph. longicornutus was considered the female of Sc. sordellii. Here, we provide the description of the female of Sc. sordellii as well as a detailed redescription of the male. In addition, after a taxonomic review of specimens previously identified as Sc. sordellii or “Sc. microps aff.” we propose the description of four new species. To obtain morphological and morphometrical data, specimens deposited in the “Coleção de Flebotomíneos” (FIOCRUZ/COLFLEB) and in the “Coleção de Flebotomíneos da Faculdade de Saúde Pública da Universidade de São Paulo” (LESP-Phlebotominae) were analyzed. Descriptions of Sciopemyia species and their synonymies were checked. A total of 318 specimens (145 females and 173 males) were examined and firstly grouped as morphospecies. Within the genus Sciopemyia, the closest species to Sc. sordellii is Sc. vattierae, whose males are separated by the size of flagellomere I, aedeagal ducts and epandrial lobe. Females, on the other hand, show differences in the spermathecae. The female of Sciopemyia apicalis sp. n. remains unknown; Wheareas, the male is morphologically closer to Sc. sordellii, and they differ on the arrangement of the spines of the gonostyle. Sciopemyia dantastorresi sp. n. and Sciopemyia shimabukuroae sp. n. are sister species, whose identification is only possible from male specimens, since no differences were found between females. The female of Sciopemyia birali sp. n. is similar to the females of Sc. microps and Sc. servulolimai but is distinguished from them by characters of the cibarium, palps, and individual spermathecal ducts. The male of Sciopemyia birali sp. n. remains unknown. Drawings and a dichotomous key for both sexes are provided.

The subfamily Phlebotominae is represented by insects commonly known as sand flies widely distributed in tropical and subtropical regions, with the Neotropical region having the greatest diversity. Only New Zealand or the Pacific Islands, excepting New Caledonia, do not present records. One means of access to the more than 1,060 described species is through the specimens deposited in biological collections, and the availability of associated data on online platforms for consultation on the part of students and researchers. This being the case, this study aimed catalogue the sand flies deposited in the Invertebrate Collection of the MZUSP (University of São Paulo Museum of Zoology). Twenty-nine species designated as type material were found being of nine holotypes, one “allotype” and 90 paratypes described from five countries in the Americas: Panama, Honduras, Jamaica, Mexico, and Brazil. In addition to these, 1,346 non-type specimens, from 12 Brazilian states, are deposited in the collection and have been included here in list form. The MZUSP sand fly collection currently houses specimens from 152 species, which represents 28% (546) of the Phlebotominae fauna of the Americas.

Lutzomyia itambe sp. n. is described as a new species of neotropical cavernicolous phlebotomine sand fly based on specimens of males and females collected in the Gruta do Itambé, Altinópolis municipality, São Paulo State. In addition to this, we describe the male of Lutzomyia fonsecai (Costa Lima, 1932) collected near their type-locality in Bolivia. These descriptions are supported by illustrations that detail the morphological and morphometrical characteristics of the specimens. Lutzomyia itambe sp. n., L. fonsecai, along with L. dispar Martins & Silva, 1963, comprise the already named “Fonsecai complex”. Both sex present parallel labial sutures, not forked, and males can be differentiated by parameral characters, while in females the distinction is made by characters of the palpi and spermathecae.

Sand flies include vector species of protozoa of the genus Leishmania Ross, 1903. The genus Trichophoromyia Barretto, 1962 has a wide distribution in the Amazon biome, where several species occur in both preserved and anthropized environments, some of which have been incriminated or are suspected vectors of cutaneous leishmaniasis. In this study, we describe a new Trichophoromyia species, from males collected in the Gurupi Biological Reserve, located in the municipality of Centro Novo do Maranhão, state of Maranhão, Brazil. The description is based on morphological and morphometric characters of three male specimens captured with CDC-type light traps. The new species is distinguished from the other species of the genus mainly by having a set of two well-calibrated setae, two mid-caliber setae, and fine setae in the baso-median region of the gonocoxite, in addition to characteristics of the paramere and the aedeagal ducts. With the description of this new taxon, the number of valid species of the genus increases to 49, expanding the taxonomic knowledge about it.

This study reports the first records of Sciopemyia vattierae (Le Pont & Desjeux, 1992) in the Brazilian states of Amazonas and Pará. In Amazonas, specimens were collected from the Hi-Merimã and Paumari do Lago Marahã indigenous lands (municipalities of Tapauá and Lábrea, respectively), and the Urucu River region (Coari). In Pará, collections were made within the Amazon National Park (Itaituba). Specimens were captured using various traps between 2011 and 2023. These findings support the hypothesis that S. vattierae is an Andean and cis-Andean species.