Not all itchy bites are from mosquitoes: How to tell if a sandfly got you instead

Got an itchy insect bite? It was probably courtesy of a mosquito. But if you’re somewhere with sandy shores, such as East Coast Park, Coney Island or Chek Jawa – and can’t spot the insect anywhere, it might have been a sandfly instead. Here’s how to tell and what’s the best way to ease the intense itch.

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Sandfly is a name that is ambiguously given to many species of biting insects that is not a mosquito.

Sandflies are incredibly tiny, about 2mm to 3mm in length, making them difficult to spot. They are most active in the early morning and evening, especially when it's windless, and they don't produce the high-pitched whine of mosquitoes. "Sandfly" is a name ambiguously given to many species of biting insects that are not mosquitoes. In Singapore, they are known to bite humans at damp, sandy coastlines, hence their name. Some bites from Singapore’s beaches may actually come from biting midges, and the term 'sandfly' is used loosely for several small biting insects, according to Dr. Scott Joel Heng, a general practitioner.

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Here in Singapore, sandflies are known to bite humans at damp, sandy coastlines; hence its name.

While true sandflies, characterized by a distinctive, humpbacked profile with hairy wings, exist and some species can carry diseases like leishmaniasis and sandfly fever, these conditions are not endemic in Singapore. Leishmaniasis is a parasitic infection that can cause skin ulcers and affect internal organs, while sandfly fever is a viral illness. However, a 2025 study noted the detection of phlebotomine sandflies in Singapore for the first time, raising awareness about potential health implications.

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some bites from Singapore’s beaches may actually come from biting midges (different from the non-biting midges that converge at reservoirs)