Any of about 21 species (genus Glossina , family Muscidae) of African bloodsucking dipterans that are robust, sparsely bristled, and usually larger than a housefly .
They have stiff, piercing mouthparts. Only two species commonly transmit the protozoan parasites (trypanosomes) that cause human sleeping sickness: G. palpalis , found primarily in dense streamside vegetation, and G. morsitans , found in more open woodlands. The female requires a sufficient blood meal to produce viable larvae, but both sexes suck blood almost daily.