sandfly

American  

[sand-flahy] / ˈsændˌflaɪ /

noun

• sandflies
  plural

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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Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

• sandflies
  plural

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Etymology

Origin of sandfly

First recorded in 1675–85; sand + fly ¹

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Example Sentences

See Examples For:

sandfly sandflies

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

Males of the sandfly, Lutzomyia longipalpis, use terpene pheromones to lure females and other males to mating sites.

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

Nobody has ever found out how the sandfly acquires its parasite, where it lays its eggs, why it seems to have thrived only in one narrow area.

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

A surge in cases among migrant workers at a quarry site in Mandera last year led authorities to restrict movement at dusk and dawn when sandflies are most active.

From Barron's ● Feb. 8, 2026

In the region’s brief summer, sandflies and other biting insects make the most of the warmth by exploding in population and feeding on black bears, wolves and humans.

From The Guardian ● Jul. 26, 2019

The pet-disease watch list includes infections spread by the growing populations of mosquitoes, ticks, sandflies and fleas, such as heartworm, lungworm, Lyme disease and leishmaniasis.

From Nature ● Mar. 28, 2017

But fewer could name the disease spread by those pesky sandflies: The ulcerating skin infection called leishmaniasis.

From Seattle Times ● Apr. 25, 2011

There, amid the sandflies, we ate dinner while the cameraman took pictures.

From "Cheaper by the Dozen" by Frank B. Gilbreth Jr. and Ernestine Gilbreth Carey

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