Sandfly

Characteristics 

• Insect: Three part body (head/thorax /abdomen) and 6 legs 
• Body length 1.5 - 3.5 mm 
• Relatively large black eyes
• Long antennae
• Long, stilt-like legs
• Hairy, multi-veined wings
• Double branching of the second wing vein 
• Angled, lance-like wings, which are folded together above the body in a resting position (→ butterfly mosquito) 
• Complete metamorphosis (holometabole development)
• Dusk and night activity
• Prominent genital lobes in males
• Only females feed on blood

•Medical significance: 

• Severe local irritation ("harara" in the Middle East) Three types of Leishmaniasis
• Visceral Leishmaniasis (VL; "kala-azar"), fatal if left untreated
• Cutaneous Leishmaniasis (CL)
• Mucocutaneous Leishmaniasis, partial or complete destruction of the nasal mucosa
• Bartonellosis (Oroya fever, caused by the bacterium Bartonella bacilliformis)
• Sandfly fever (transovarial transmission)

Egg

• 0.3 - 0.4 mm long 30 - 70 eggs per clutch
• Likely egg deposition in crevices and cracks

Larvae

• hatch after 4 - 20 days
• Four larval stages
• Larvae 3 - 6 mm
• Distinctive black head
• Matchstick-like hairs

Pupae

• Pupation after 20 - 30 days
• Adult (Imago) after 6 - 30 days