Bloodflies were swarming insects common to the broad plains of Lothal, a planet located in the galaxy's Outer Rim Territories. Large and highly aggressive, they measured between ten and fourteen millimeters long and banded, black and white bodies with iridescent wings, mandibles, and bright green eyes. Bloodflies fed on mammal blood, although they also ingested pollen and nectar. They tended to gather around herds of large animals such as nerfs, where the food was plentiful. While they had an extremely painful bite, they were also extremely noisy flyers, which made them, at least for sentients, relatively easy to avoid. Bloodflies occasionally carried a blood-borne disease called "bloodfly sickness," which sapped afflicted sentients' strength and energy and caused fever, vomiting, and pain