Vetstoria

Morphology of the adult flea

• 1 to 2 mm long, dark brown, wingless insect
• Body flattened from side to side a bit like a sun-fish
• 3 pairs of legs
• Very powerful last (back) pair of legs:

• Can jump up to a foot
• Like a 6ft man jumping 300 yards…

Feeding activity

• Starts within seconds of being on the pet.
• The flea feeds by piercing the skin and suckling the blood straight from the flesh.
• One flea is able to ingest more than 150 times its own body weight in blood daily!!
  

• 70 fleas will consume1 ml of blood every day.
• Around the quantity taken by the vet for a blood test.

Life cycle: reproduction

The flea passes through 4 stages in its life cycle:

• Adult flea
• Egg
• Larvae
• Pupa

Life cycle of the flea

1. The Eggs

• Mating within 8 to 24 hours of the arrival on the pet
• First eggs within 24 to 48 hours
• Production may reach 50 eggs per day and per flea

2. The Larvae

• Eggs are small and non-sticky: fall of the host fairly quickly
• Eggs will hatch within 1 to 10 days (depending on Tş and Humidity)
• The larva emerges from the eggs after hatching

- 2 mm long
- Slender
- White
- Covered with short hairs

• The larvae feeds on organic debris present on the floor
• Moves away from the light

- Indoor, it goes under furniture, appliances, and into carpet fibres
- Outdoors, it moves into shaded areas under bushes, trees, and leaves

3. The pupa

• Within 1-2 weeks, the larvae:

- Moults 3 times
- Produces a sticky cocoon

• Within another week, the pupa: Transforms into a flea

• The new flea waits for a signal suggesting the presence of a host:

- Heat
- Carbon dioxide
- Vibrations

• The flea can:

- Emerge and attach to the host in seconds
- Wait in the cocoon for up to a year

General considerations

1. Timing:

• 2 weeks (ideal conditions like indoor)
• 1 year
  

2. Intensity:

In just one month, 10 female fleas under ideal conditions can multiply to over a quarter million different life stages

Finally, it is essential to understand that fleas:

• Do not live very long (2 weeks to 2 months)
• Do not go from one host to another
• It is the phenomenal efficiency of their breeding cycle that can make fleas a real burden in the household.