SIPHONAPTERA: FLEAS
Definition
- The scientific name is derived from the blood sucking mouth parts (siphon, as in sucking through a drinking straw, and apterous means without wings).
- The adult body is small but very tough, and laterally flattened. It is a good design surviving scratching by the host and for moving (scuttling) through hair or feathers.
- The hind legs have evolved for jumping.
- Life cycle complete: egg, larva, pupa and adult.
What they do and where they live
- Adults live as ectoparasites (ecto' means they live on the outside, rather than the inside) on the blood of mammals and birds (they are a true parasite since they do not kill the host).
- Larvae are rather worm-like in shape, but with 6 legs in front, and tough. They feed on detritus in the nest or place where the host habitually lives.
- Fleas living on humans and pets, have declined since chemical treatments were adopted, and the invention of the vacuum-cleaner proved much more effective at removing larvae than an old-fashioned broom and dustpan.
Number of species
- About 60 species occur in the UK.
- The world fauna is 1,750 known species.
It's amazing There used to be fleas circuses, with fleas doing various party tricks. There are even fleas that have been dressed-up in tiny made-to-measure clothing (examples are on display in Tring Museum, and perhaps elsewhere).
