sandfly

American  

[sand-flahy] / ˈsændˌflaɪ /

noun

plural

sandflies

1. any of several small, bloodsucking, dipterous insects of the family Psychodidae that are vectors of several diseases of humans.

2. any of several other small, bloodsucking, dipterous insects, as one of the family Heleidae or Simuliidae.

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sandfly British  

/ ˈsændˌflaɪ /

noun

1. any of various small mothlike dipterous flies of the genus Phlebotomus and related genera: the bloodsucking females transmit diseases including leishmaniasis: family Psychodidae

2. any of various similar and related flies

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Etymology

Origin of sandfly

First recorded in 1675–85; sand + fly ¹

Example Sentences

The sandfly commonly shelters in cracks in poorly plastered mud houses, anthills and soil fissures, multiplying during the rainy season after prolonged drought.

From Barron's • Feb. 8, 2026

The team from the University of Nottingham's School of Chemistry analysed the genome of the Lutzomyia longipalpis, a species of sandfly native to Brazil and South America that can spread a disease called Leishmaniasis.

From Science Daily • Mar. 11, 2024

Over 90 sandfly species are known to transmit Leishmania parasites that are spread to humans through being bitten, but Lutzomyia longipalpis is themajor carrier of the disease in South America.

From Science Daily • Mar. 11, 2024

Finally, the doctors surmised that she had a rare tropical ailment called leishmaniasis, in which protozoa from the bite of a sandfly enter the bloodstream and attack the liver and spleen.

From Time Magazine Archive

There, in the spring of 1955, some 2000 acres of salt marsh in St. Lucie County were treated with dieldrin in an attempt to eliminate the larvae of the sandfly.

From "Silent Spring" by Rachel Carson