A Flea, A Flea, My Kingdom for a Flea

A Short Biography of the Flea

Fleas are parasites, existing exclusively on the blood of mammals and birds. During the period of gestation, the larvaes will feed on anything organic, even their own cast off skin and their parents’ dung. They are known to stay dormant until vibrations warn them of a possible host nearly.  After receiving this signal, their desire for blood will cause the larvas to awaken.

However, a flea can go for as long as a year without food, and can be frozen and defrosted and still live. This is why it is possible to be attacked by a family of fleas, years after moving into a house which was previously inhabited by people with animals who had fleas.

Fleas are not fussy and will live anywhere: in carpetting, in skirting boards and in small cracks and crevices in bare floors.

Flea populations are unevenly distributed, with 50 percent eggs, 35 percent larvae, 10 percent pupae, and 5 percent adults. There are over 2000 species of flea worldwide, and are sadly, not endangered in the least.

The Life Cycle of the Flea

image source

A female flea will not lay eggs unless and until she has had a meal of blood. Where she gets this from, doesn’t matter at all, she is not known to be fussy.  During her adult life she will lay several hundred eggs (but only after a blood meal) which hatch in 10 days or less.

The pupal stage can  go on for as long as a year (and rarely, 2 years) in some cases.  This is entirely possible because of their ability to remain dormant without feeding for so long.

Description of the Flea

Fleas measure about 1.5 to 3.3 mm long.  They have no wings, but their bodies are flat, which is perfect for moving easily through the hairs or feathers (or under clothes) of their host. Their mouths are basically a tube, which is what you need  if sucking blood is how you feed.

Their back legs are long and strong, permitting them to jump as far as 13 inches. This is 200 times their own body length, making the flea the second best jumper of all animals  (the froghopper is first).

The flea is mighty and strong, even squeezing them between your fingers won’t kill them. To make sure they’re dead, it may be necessary to burn or drown them.

You See, the Problem with Fleas…

(Picture from Wikipedia)

If you’ve been bitten by a flea, you’ll notice a slightly raised, swollen itching spot.  It should have a puncture wound at the very centre of the swelling. Sometimes the bites can appear in clusters of two or three and will be terribly itchy and inflamed for up to two weeks. In extreme cases, fleas can even cause anemia.

This is only the top of the iceberg though.  The most important thing to remember is that they carry dangerous diseases like typhus fever and many times, even tapeworm.  Fleas are popular for having transmitted the bubonic plague from rats to humans, giving the poor rats a worse name than they actually deserve.

In addition to this record, according to the American Pest Control, fleas (carrying diseases) have caused the deaths of more people than every war in history combined!