Human Flea

Pulex irritans

Appearance

• Fleas are black to brownish–black wingless insects.
• Adult fleas are 1/32"-1/8" 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.

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.