Sandfly

Sandflies are small flying insects that live in the Akazi desert. They feed on blood that they procure by biting through the skin until they reach blood.

Dangers

There are three dangers that involve sandflies. The first one is sand madness which is an illness that is caused by the bite of one in ten female sandflies. When these sandflies bite, they will release their venom. This venom is poisonous to the body and cause sand madness, which can be deadly if it's not taken care of properly.
Besides sand madness, there are also other diseases that can be spread by sandflies. Because sandflies drink the blood of different species they often carry various diseases which will be transmitted through their bite.
Lastly, because sandflies bite off pieces of skin, they leave small open wounds all over the body which increases the risk of infections, especially when the skin is not well protected to the other elements of the surrounding area.

Harvested for drugs

Because of the hallucinogenic properties of sandfly venom, sandflies are harvested and processed to produce a drug called Madness. The harvest of these small insects is quite difficult, but the Taiyo Tribe has spend years perfecting this process as selling the drug is a pretty big part of their income.
Sandflies are harvested on large flat panels that are covered with a mixture of blood and a sticky plant residu. The blood attrackts the sandflies and the plant residu makes the flies stick to the panel. Inert sandflies will be picked off of the panel during the night and crushed into a thick viscous paste. This paste will be portioned out into small balls of about two centimeters in diameter before being flattend into a disk shape and dried. The dried disks of madness can be easily stored and sold to The Order.

Type
Insect
Alternative name
Black fly

Lifespan

1-3 months

Average Length

1.5-3.5 mm

Geographic location
Akazi desert
Color
Black

Habitat and behaviour

The primary habitat of sandflies is the Akazi desert. During the warm day the flies are active and will go around collecting blood from various animals. Just before the sun goes down and the desert gets cold very quickly, sandflies will burry themselves in the sand and become inert due to the cold of the night. Once the sun is up again and the sand is becoming hot, sandflies will dig themselves out and will repeat their day.