“Unseen and Unwelcome: Sand Flies Turning Spiti Evenings Sour”

These days, evenings of Spiti summer have become more irksome and not as pleasant as earlier. The whitefly, a small insect, has started entering residents’ rooms frequently during the evening. Bites on the legs, ankles and feet, arms, and neck that occur from dusk to dawn—these flying creatures are so small and silent that they are almost impossible to spot or capture.

These notorious creatures are ‘sand flies,’ usually attracted by screen lights at night and human blood. Females are bloodsuckers, attacking humans for the need of blood to produce a new generation. Both male and female though feed on green leaves-sap/fluid for nutrition. Being a carrier of vector diseases, they are dangerous when carrying diseases like sandfly fever, which causes fever, headache, itching, muscle pain, and other flu-like symptoms. 

Despite their small size (2-3 mm), sand flies pose significant public health and ecological concerns. The prominent dangerous vector is for Leishmaniasis disease, which in later stages is known as Kala-Azar- a parasitic disease caused by Leishmania parasites and transmitted by the bite of infected female sandflies. So, be careful and cautious about its presence. 

 

Captured the attacker on the slide

Sand flies are weak flyers and have short flying patterns. Under the categories of Arthropods and insects, these tiny sand flies belong to the family Psychodidae of class- Diptera of suborder Nematocera, which means having two wings prominent and the other two being small or rudimentary.

Prevention is better than treatment

Effective repellent lotions contain either dimethyl phthalate or diethyl toluamide as the active ingredient. If the problem is severe and persists for a long time, some remedies can be helpful like antihistamines (tablets/pills or in the form of lotion on the skin) to reduce bite itching/swelling/redness. The intensely afflicted areas can also be soothed by topical medications like hydrocortisone or calamine lotion, which are available at chemist shops.

Dhuni/fumes of aromatic local herbs like Burse (Artemesia spp.), Chipcha (Oxytropis spp), Shukpa (Juniperus spp.) and burnt fumes from citronella oil or herbal candles help in keeping the sandflies away. You should refrain from scratching the bites if you are bitten, as there is a greater chance of a secondary infection later when the wound is open to the environment.

This information is petite yet significant—‘General public awareness is important before it becomes endemic or becomes a regular guest of Spiti evenings.