No-see-um -- You Sure Can Feel-um

Category: image - :Biting_sandfly.jpg|thumb|Sandfly biting a human's little finger

Category: image - :SandFlyBite.JPG|thumb|Sandfly bite

Sandfly (or sand fly) is a colloquial name for any species or genus of flying, biting, blood-sucking Dipteran encountered in sandy areas. In the United States, sandfly may refer to certain horse flies that are also known as "greenheads" (family Tabanidae), or to members of the family Ceratopogonidae, also known in Florida and elsewhere as a sandflea, no-see-um, no-see-em, noseeum, sand gnats, granny nippers, chitras, punkie, or punky. Outside the United States, sandfly may refer to members of the subfamily Phlebotominae within the Psychodidae. Biting midges are sometimes incorrectly referred to as sand flies. Biting midges also known as no-see-um, no-see-em or noseeum are insects that belong to a different biological group and should not be confused with the sand flies.

While horse flies are large flies, noseeums (sandfleas) and Old-World sandflies are tiny midges. Sandfly bites may leave large, red itchy bumps that may turn into a rash. These bumps are frequently several times as 'itchy' as mosquito bites, and tend to last longer as well.

In the various sorts of sandfly only the female is responsible for biting and sucking the blood of mammals, reptiles and birds. She requires the protein in the blood to make her eggs.

Some sandfly genera of the Phlebotominae subfamily are the primary vectors of leishmaniasis and Pappataci fever; both diseases are confusingly referred to as sandfly fever. In the New World, leishmaniasis is spread by sand flies of the genus Lutzomyia; in the Old World, the disease is spread by sandflies of the genus Phlebotomus. Belize and Honduras are notorious in the Caribbean for their sandfly populations and travel pages frequently warn tourists to bring bug spray containing high concentrations of DEET.

Culicomorpha is a infraorder of Nematocera. It includes mosquitoes, black flies, and several extant and extinct families of insect.

Chironomoidea is a superfamily within the order Diptera, suborder Nematocera, infraorder Culicomorpha. It contains the families Chironomidae, Ceratopogonidae, Simuliidae, and Thaumaleidae. One of the more important characters used to define this superfamily is the form of the larval mouthparts.

Ceratopogonidae, or biting midges (including what are called, in the United States, no-see-ums, midgies, sand flies, punkies, and others), are a family of small flies (1?4 mm long) in the order Diptera. They are closely related to the Chironomidae, Simuliidae (or black flies), and Thaumaleidae.

They are found in almost any aquatic or semiaquatic habitat throughout the world. Females of most species are adapted to suck blood from some kind of host animal. Culicoides, Forcipomyia (Lasiohelea), and Leptoconops suck vertebrate blood. Some Atrichopogon and Forcipomyia are ectoparasites on larger insects. Dasyhelea feed exclusively on nectar. Species in other genera are predatory on other small insects. Larvae are always found in some damp location, such as under bark, in rotten wood, compost, mud, stream margins, tree holes, or water-holding plants (i.e., phytotelmata).

Many of the hematophagic (blood-sucking) species, are pests in beach or mountain habitats. Other species are important pollinators of tropical crops such as cacao. The blood-sucking species may be vectors of disease-causing viruses, protozoa, and filarial worms. The bite of midges in the genus Culicoides causes an allergic response in equines known as sweet itch. In humans, their bite can cause intensely itchy, red welts that can persist for more than a week. A localized allergic reaction to the proteins in their saliva, the discomfort can be somewhat alleviated by topical antihistamines.

The smaller members of the family are tiny enough to pass through the apertures in typical window screens. Camping tents are often equipped with extra-fine mesh netting, called no-see-um nets, to keep the pests out.