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
sand gnat,
sandflea,
no-see-um (
no-see-em,
noseeum),
granny nipper,
chitra,
punkie, or
punky. Outside the United States,
sandfly may refer to members of the subfamily
Phlebotominae within the
Psychodidae.
Biting midges (Ceratopogonidae) are sometimes called sand flies or no-see-ums (no-see-em, noseeum).
New Zealand sandflies are in the
Austrosimulium genus, a type of
black fly.