Human Flea

Pulex irritans

Appearance

•  Fleas are black to brownish-black wingless insects.
•  Adult fleas are 1 to 4 mm long.
•  They possess a long, fine proboscis which is used to pierce the skin of their host to feed on their blood.
•  They have a characteristic jumping movement.

Lifecycle

•  A female flea will lay 4 to 8 eggs after each blood meal, and can usually lay several hundred eggs during her adult life.
•  The smooth, oval light-coloured eggs measuring around 0.5 mm long, are deposited on, but not firmly attached to, the body, bedding, or nest of the host. The adult generally emerges in a week or two after completing a larval and pupal stage, but under unfavourable conditions, the pupal period may be as long as a year.host.The adult generally emerges after a spending a week or two in the larval and pupal stages, but under unfavourable conditions, this can take as long as a year.

Habits

•  Fleas most often bite people around the legs and ankles, usually with 2 or 3 bites in a row. The bites are felt immediately and can be sore for as much as a week.
•  Since they move from one host species to another, they present a risk of transmitting disease.
•  Pulex irritans is also a vector of Yersinia pestis (plague).
•  Human fleas can also be found on animals such as dogs, rats, pigs, deer and foxes.