Flea - pernicious little insects
Flea is the term
commonly used for small insects that do not
have any wings and belong to the order of
Siphonaptera. These are the external parasites
that survive on the hematophagy of blood of
birds and mammals. Considering the similarities
in larvae, it was earlier considered that
fleas have actually evolved from Diptera (flies).
Some of the most common species of flea are:
human flea, dog flea, cat flea and oriental
rat flea.
The mouthparts of fleas are generally tube-like
to make it easy for them to feed over the
blood of its host. The bodies of these fleas
are compressed laterally so that they can
easily move between the hair on the body of
their hosts. They have comparatively long
legs and are apt for jumping. The body of
a flea is polished, hard and entirely covered
with hair along with short spines that are
directed backward. This enables flea to find
a smooth passage from the hair of the host.
It has a tough body that is well-adopted to
withstand scratching and great pressure. In
fact, at times even squeezing them between
fingers doesn’t seem to work to kill
a flea. It may become necessary to crush it
by fingernails or roll it among the fingers.
Fleas multiply very rapidly. They lay tine
eggs that are oval in shape. The larvae given
by them are very pale and small along with
bristles that covers their body. Their mouth
parts are apt for chewing and are generally
they do not have eyes. However, the adult
fleas feed only on blood, their larvae prefers
to have organic matter that includes feces
of adult fleas. In its pupae phase, larvae
are normally enclosed within the silken cocoon
that is covered with debris.
Fleas are the holometabolous insects, whose
life cycle undergoes four stages from an embryo
to being an adult. The first stage is that
of an embryo, followed by larva and pupa.
Last but definitely not least is that of an
imago or adult. It is necessary for an adult
flee to feed on blood before they become capable
enough for reproduction. The eggs of fleas
normally take around two days to a maximum
of two weeks for getting hatched. Fleas always
try to avoid sunlight and keep confined to
dark places such as beddings, crevices, cracks
and sand. The complete life cycle of fleas
generally range from two weeks to few months,
if the conditions around seem to be favorable.
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