Disentangling detrimental sand fly-mite interactions in a closed laboratory sand fly colony: implications for vector-borne disease studies and guidelines for overcoming severe mite infestations.

We report a case of detrimental interaction between sand flies and Tyrophagus sp. and S. scimitus in a closed laboratory sand fly colony, discuss their impact on sand fly production and provide guidelines for limiting the mite population size in a closed laboratory colony leading to improved sand fly yields.