Exercise No.
3
Scientific classification
• Kingdom:Animalia
• Phylum:Arthropoda
• Class:Insecta
• Subclass:Pterygota
• Infraclass:Neoptera
• Superorder:Endopterygota
• Order:Siphonaptera
Some flea species include:
• Cat flea (Ctenocephalides felis)
• Dog flea (Ctenocephalides canis)
• Human flea (Pulex irritans)
• Moorhen flea (Dasypsyllus gallinulae)
Northern rat flea (Nosopsyllus
fasciatus)
• Oriental rat flea (Xenopsylla cheopis)
Host Distribution:
• Ctenocephalides felis felis- cosmopolitan
and occurs on cat, dog, and occasionally man,
mouse, rat and primates.
• Ctenocephalides felis orientalis- India, Sri
Lanka South East Asia
• Ctenocephalides canis- restricted to dogs
and related species, cosmopolitan in
distribution.
• Archaeopsylla erinacei- occurs in
hedgehogs in Europe and N. America.
• Spilopsyllus cuniculi- restricted in rabbit
and hare and is seldom seen in laboratory
animals.
Host Distribution:
• Xenopsylla cheopes- oriental or black rat
flea, associated with the transmission of
plague.
• Pulex irritans- human flea but may also
occur on the pig and badger, dogs, cat and
rats.
• Tunga penetrans- also of man, it is the jigger
or chigoe flea and may be found in pig and
baboon.
• Ceratophyllus gallinae- common flea of
chicken
• Echidnophaga gallinacea- common in
chickens in tropical and subtropical areas
Morphology and Behavior:
• Fleas are wingless insects with laterally
compressed bodies.
• 1.5-4 mm long
• The chitinous covering is thick and
brown.
• Compound eyes are absent, some
species have large or small simple eyes.
• Abdomen has ten segments
• The ninth abdominal segment of both
the male and female bears a dorsal plate
called sensilium
Adult flea:
Flea body parts:
• The tergum of the ninth abdominal
segment of the male is modified to
form claspers.
• The penis (aedeagus) of the male is
chitinous and coiled and its structure is
complex.
• The legs are long, strong and adapted
to leaping.
• Dog flea and cat flea have number of
large spines on the head and thorax
known as ―comb or ctenidia.
Flea body parts:
• Usually dark colored (for example, the
reddish-brown of the cat flea)
• with tube-like mouth-parts adapted to
feeding on the blood of their hosts.
• Their legs are long, the hind pair well
adapted for jumping
• a flea can jump vertically up to 7
inches (18 cm) and horizontally up to
13 inches (33 cm) making the flea one
of the best jumpers of all known
animals.
Flea showing the legs:
Flea movement:
• fleas take off from their tibiae and
tarsi—the insect equivalent of feet—and
not their trochantera, or knees.
• fleas do not use muscle power, but
energy stored in a protein named resilin
Their bodies are laterally
compressed, permitting easy
movement through the hairs or
feathers on the host's body (or in the
case of humans, under clothing).
Life Cycle:
• The flea body is hard, polished, and covered
with many hairs and short spines directed
backward, which also assist its movements
on the host.
• Fleas lay tiny white oval-shaped eggs better
viewed through a loupe.
• The larva is small, pale, has bristles covering
its wormlike body, lacks eyes, and has
mouthparts adapted to chewing.
• The larvae feed on various organic matter,
especially the feces of mature fleas. The adult
flea's diet consists solely of fresh blood. In
the pupa phase, the larva is enclosed in a
silken, debris-covered cocoon.
Life Cycle
• Fleas are holometabolous insects, going
through the four life cycle stages of egg,
larva, pupa, and imago (adult).
• The flea life cycle begins when the
female lays after feeding.
• Adult fleas must feed on blood before
they can become capable of reproduction.
• Eggs are laid in batches of up to 20 or
so, usually on the host itself, which means
that the eggs can easily roll onto the
ground.
Life Cycle:
Life Cycle:
• Flea larvae emerge from the eggs to feed on any
available organic material such as dead insects, feces,
and vegetable matter.
• They are blind and avoid sunlight, keeping to dark
places like sand, cracks and crevices, and bedding.
• Given an adequate supply of food, larvae should
pupate and a silken cocoon within 1–2 weeks after 3
larval stages.
• After another week or two, the adult flea is fully
developed and ready to emerge from the cocoon.
• They may however remain resting during this period
until they receive a signal that a host is near - vibrations
(including sound), heat, and carbon dioxide are all
stimuli indicating the probable presence of a host.
Flea:
• Once the flea reaches adulthood, its
primary goal is to find blood and then to
reproduce.
• Adult fleas only have about a week to
find food once they emerge, but after that
they can survive two years to three years
between meals.
• Their total life cycle can be as short as
one year, but may be several years in ideal
conditions.
• Female fleas can lay 5000 or more eggs
over their life, allowing for phenomenal
growth rates.
Habitat:
• Newly emerged adult fleas live only
about one week if a blood meal is not
obtained.
• However, completely developed adult
fleas can live for several months
without eating, so long as they do not
emerge from their puparia.
• Optimum temperatures for the flea's
life cycle are 70°F to 85°F (21°C to
30°C) and optimum humidity is 70%.
Importance of fleas:
• Flea bites
• Flea allergy dermatitis
• Coat damage
• Skin disease
• Anemia
• Infectious disease transmission
• Annoyance
• Zoonosis
Control of fleas:
• Treatment of animals to kill fleas
• Eliminate developmental stages in the
hosts environment
• Prevention of reinfestation
• Flea collars
• Combination of dichlorvos and
fenitrothion
• Carbaryl formulated shampoo
• Organophosphates (coumaphos)
• Premises should be thoroughly cleaned