Fleas at almost any stage of development are unpretentious to the surrounding living conditions, while they go through a full cycle of transformations. With this process, it is worth considering that the existing appearance (what flea larvae look like) will differ significantly from the final stage of the developed insect. In addition to appearance, there are also distinctive features of lifestyle and nutrition during such biological transformations. Due to heterogeneity, mature individuals do not compete for living space with young animals, which provides increased chances for both groups to survive.
In addition to fleas, mosquitoes, butterflies, flies, wasps, and ants have similar development cycles. It is worth remembering how profound the difference is between a butterfly and a caterpillar in order to visualize the stages of development of a flea and its path from larva to adult.
Life cycle of a flea
Nature has provided a completely different way of forming insects to cockroaches, bedbugs, grasshoppers, and dragonflies. Their larvae are nymphs, distinguished by the following properties:
- similar in appearance to adult insects;
- live with their older brothers in the same territory;
- eat the same thing.
This method of survival is relevant when there is an abundance of nutrients.
Flea infestation of pets
In some cases, one dog can have up to 250 fleas on it at the same time. Such data were obtained when processing the animal and combing it, and the error did not exceed 10%.
Life period of fleas
The female flea becomes sexually mature almost immediately after emerging from the pupal state. The mating process can be carried out in cases where opposite-sex individuals discover each other:
- on the bedding that the animal uses to rest;
- in a pet's kennel or house;
- directly on the animal's body.
An important factor is that the female must receive a portion of blood at least once to form a clutch. The presence of this important fluid will provide a start for the development of eggs in the flea's body. In some cases, females even lay eggs on the animal’s fur. This method makes it easy to transport eggs over a large area, because when shaking itself, the animal drops future insects almost throughout the home.
Interesting fact:
Starvation of fleas can proceed painlessly for several months, sometimes this period can reach up to a year. At the same time, females will not be able to lay eggs during this period, and when feeding is resumed, everything will be restored, since fleas lay eggs only after sucking a portion of blood. Over the course of her life, the average female lays up to 500 eggs.
VIDEO: How to get rid of fleas in an apartment
Laying eggs
- larvae avoid competition for food;
- there is a chance that the hatched larvae will survive because they will not be noticed;
- will be able to spread over a larger area.
The flea eggs shown in the photo in reality do not exceed half a millimeter in diameter. They are almost invisible even against a dark background. Their development time depends on external factors:
- at elevated temperatures, the incubation period is about two days;
- Under normal conditions, it can take up to two weeks for a larva to emerge from an egg.
The most comfortable conditions for the development of blood-sucking insects are humidity of about 60% and temperature within 23-25°C.
The egg laying can dry out with the destruction of protein bonds if a dry environment with elevated temperature is formed. Fleas practically do not live on a sick animal.
Since insects reproduce intensively, you can find larvae in an infected person or animal that look like worms with a translucent body, no more than 1 mm long. During their growth, they go through three stages of molting and reach a length of 4-5 mm. Such individuals feed on organic residues that are contained in the remains of the vital activity of adult insects, particles of the skin of animals or people.
Transformation into an adult
The flea larval stage lasts from a week to four weeks. After this, they begin to entangle themselves in a silk cocoon to transform into a pupa. This stage has the following features:
- lack of external power sources;
- no way to move;
- respiratory processes slow down;
- the capsule protects against temperature changes and changes in humidity.
Interesting fact:
Pupae and adults are able to withstand exposure to negative temperatures down to -40°C (short-term), unlike eggs and larvae, which die even at about 0°C.
In the most accelerated version, the development period of fleas from egg to mature individual usually takes up to one and a half weeks, and on average it takes about three to four weeks. When maintaining a comfortable temperature in the room, development cycles can occur all year round, so you should not delay their destruction.
This is how the life of an insect goes
If not for the short period of life, fleas would have filled everything around. On average, an adult insect lives for a maximum of 3 months and during this time manages to make about 100 bites (dog, human, cat - it doesn’t matter). Let us repeat, in such a short time a female can lay up to five thousand eggs, 90% of which will go through all stages of development.
VIDEO: 10 nasty insects that live in almost every home
Lifespan of fleas
The average lifespan of an adult flea is 2-3 months. During this time, the insect usually manages to make about 60-100 bites on its victim, and the female lays from 400 to 500 eggs.
Fleas live approximately the same amount of time in an apartment, provided that they are not treated with special preparations and the insects have constant access to food.
As the average temperature in the habitat increases, the period shortens. At the maximum temperatures for each species (for cat and dog fleas common in apartments this is 36-37°C), the insects live only about three to four weeks. At the same time, the development of their eggs and larvae proceeds much faster, and in general the life cycle of fleas and their reproduction cycle is greatly reduced.
This is interesting
At high temperatures, fleas grow larger than the average member of the species. On the contrary, as the temperature drops they become smaller.
Also depends on temperature. Their larvae develop at optimal temperatures for about a month, at high temperatures - a little more than a week, and at extremely low temperatures - up to 8 months.
The eggs develop for about two more weeks, and the insect remains at the pupal stage for about three weeks.
In general, the “from egg to egg” flea reproduction cycle takes from 10 days to 1 year. And the lifespan of one flea from egg to death can stretch from one and a half months to several years.
This is interesting
At the pupal stage, fleas can survive very harsh conditions - frost, ice, severe droughts and the action of insecticides. Theoretically, flea pupa can remain viable for several years.
Thanks to this specific life cycle, the flea is able to survive very unfavorable environmental conditions, and sometimes even many of its hosts. So, for example, if an animal on which fleas fed dies, the insects almost instantly leave its corpse (fleas cannot feed on blood on a dead animal).
So, given that fleas do not live on animals or humans, you should look for them in other places in the apartment. They usually hide in the bedding on which the animal rests, in and behind carpets, behind baseboards, in cracks in floors, piles of garbage in corners, among old trash. This is where their worm-like larvae usually develop.
Fleas rarely live in clothes, although if they are infested in an apartment, they can easily be found in the closet. The main requirement for the place in which they are located is short and quick access to food (animal or human).
Although fleas live quite a long time without food.
Like many other blood-sucking insects, fleas can go hungry for a long time. Felines and, most often, attacking humans, can go without food for several months, while maintaining mobility and without falling into suspended animation.
Thus, although fleas are able to live long enough without an animal or a person, they will not be able to reproduce.
On a note
In addition to low temperatures, other factors can affect the lifespan of fleas:
An example of how fleas from the basement inhabited all the apartments of a high-rise building
How long a flea can live without feeding on blood outside an animal depends on environmental conditions and the stage of the insect's life cycle. First, let's establish how many years, months or days earth fleas can live in different circumstances - favorable and extreme.
How long do fleas live in artificial conditions?
In the laboratory
In laboratory conditions, adult cat fleas live for months. In one artificial system, the maximum lifespan was 86 days. In another experiment, when fleas were fed human blood, their lifespan reached 139-185 days!
On an animal
The flea lives on the body of the owner for a long time, provided that the animal does not take care of itself. For example, one experiment showed that 94.1% of females and 89.2% of males survived for 14 days on cats. In another experiment, cats had their nails trimmed and were given conical collars to prevent grooming. After 50 days, 85% of females and 60% of males were still alive. And after 113 days, 76% of females and 50% of males were still living on cats.
How long do fleas live and how do they die in natural conditions?
Animal hygiene habits are the main factor in flea mortality
How many fleas do cats clean?
How long does a cat flea live without a cat?
Some animals groom themselves more thoroughly than others.
Animal age factor
How long does a flea live outside an animal at extreme temperatures?
Cold and frost
Sub-zero temperatures are lethal to fleas. At temperatures just below zero, adults emerging from cocoons die within 5 days. At 3-5 degrees above zero, fleas die within 10 days. The lower limit of survival is +8 degrees - at this temperature, 50% of fleas survive for 20 days. So in winter, fleas cannot live outside without an animal. Immature fleas are more sensitive to cold than adults. Eggs and larvae will not develop if the temperature does not exceed +13 degrees.
Heat and dryness
Heat above 35 degrees is deadly for fleas. At low relative humidity, fleas die within 2 days. In addition, the larvae die inside the cocoons at this temperature. The flea population does not survive outdoors if the heat above +35˚C lasts more than 40 hours during the month.
How long can adult fleas live without food?
After emerging from the cocoon
At home, adults newly emerging from cocoons must drink their first blood within a week so as not to die of hunger. In a number of experiments they survived longer, but two weeks is the ceiling. 95% of young hungry fleas at +24˚C and a relative humidity of 78% die in 15 days, and at +22.5˚C and a relative humidity of 60% - in 12.3 days.
Fleas that do not feed on blood survive much longer, up to 40 days, in a humid environment at relatively low temperatures. In cool, damp air (62%), young fleas will live even 70 days without animal blood. But such conditions are found only in the basements of apartment buildings, and not in residential premises.
Dropped from the owner
Once on the host, fleas immediately begin to feed. During the day, the insect doubles in size and triples the supply of proteins in the body. Once thrown from the animal, the flea loses its accumulated weight and protein supply within 12 hours. After 12 hours of fasting, death can occur as a result of malnutrition. If fleas only have access to food for 2-3 hours a day, they are malnourished.
Blood addiction threshold
When feeding on a host, at a certain point fleas pass a point at which they require a constant source of blood to survive. This is reminiscent of drug addiction. Males removed from the animal after 5 days of feeding die within 48 hours, and females die within 96 hours. Survival outside the animal increases sharply (up to 14 days) if the initial feeding period is limited to 12 hours, since in this case the dependence threshold is not reached.
Where do fleas live in an apartment if there are no animals (photo)
In the absence of animals, the habitat of fleas in the apartment is limited to shaded, cool areas on the floor, where they are not too noticeable.
Can fleas live in hair and on the human body?
Fleas do not live on humans, unlike head and pubic lice; after feeding on blood, they immediately leave the human body. If a flea is disturbed while feeding, the insect may linger on the clothing on the underside. In rare cases, the flea remains in clothing for 1-2 days without finding a way out, and periodically bites. Fleas do not prefer humans as hosts due to their scanty hair.
It is unlikely that a flea will lay eggs in human hair. Firstly, these insects are physically unable to reach the head; fleas jump up to ankle level. In addition, once a flea gets on a person, it does not travel through it - it immediately bites to drink blood, and immediately gets out.
How long do flea eggs and larvae live and where do they live?
How long does it take for flea eggs to hatch?
In an apartment, most flea eggs end up in floor carpets and animal bedding. Hatching eggs requires a combination of suitable temperature and humidity, and the microclimate inside the carpet pile is ideal. In an apartment at room temperature, the larva emerges from the egg after 2-3 days. In less comfortable conditions, the period of egg development lasts 8-12 days.
How long does it take for flea larvae to develop?
The development period of the larvae, depending on the conditions, varies from 5 to 45 days. In addition to comfortable temperature and humidity, flea larvae need sufficient food. The larvae feed on semi-digested dry blood, which is excreted in the form of excrement by the imago. In an apartment where an infected pet lives, carpets and bedding are replete with both eggs and flea excrement.
As a rule, in an apartment the period of larval development before pupation is 7-12 days. In a cooler and drier environment and with poorer nutrition, the larvae develop in 28-45 days.
How long does the pupal stage last?
The pupal stage consists of three stages: prepupa, pupa and preimaginal stage. These stages take place inside the cocoon and usually last 7-19 days in total. Males develop 14-20% longer than females. With a decrease in environmental temperature, the period of development of the pupa increases. For example, at a temperature of 27˚C the female develops in 8 days, the male in 10 days, and at a temperature of 15˚C the female develops in 27 days and the male in 32 days.
The timing of pupal development is also affected by relative humidity and how well the larva has been fed. The more abundant the food was at the larval stage, the longer the pupal stage lasts. This is due to the fact that the biological mechanism for exiting the cocoon is triggered when the level of fluid and nutritional reserves of the body reaches a critical level. In one experiment, a larva that was starved before pupation passed through the pupal stage in 8 days, while a larva that fed abundantly passed through the pupal stage in 56 days.
But the preimaginal stage, when an adult flea has developed from a larva but has not yet emerged from the cocoon, can last much longer - up to 5 months. The trigger for the imago to emerge from the cocoon is the presence of the future host, which insects recognize by temperature and pressure when they step on it. The flea will not leave the cocoon until it receives these signals.
How quickly do fleas die when treated with insecticides?
After synchronous treatment of the premises and pets, flea imagoes die within 1-2 days. But the insecticide does not penetrate deep into the carpet, where eggs, larvae and pupae hide. In addition, the cocoon reliably protects the pupa from chemical exposure.
After how many days should I re-treat fleas?
When using long-acting contact preparations, adults emerging from cocoons will die within 3-4 weeks. However, over time, the properties of the chemical weaken. It is recommended to re-treat the premises after 2-3 weeks. As a rule, two or three treatments are enough to remove a colony of domestic fleas.
Sources:
- Wade, S. E. & Georgi, J. R. Survival and reproduction of artificially fed cat fleas, Ctenocephalides felis Bouché (Siphonaptera: Pulicidae) // J. Med. Entomol. 25, 186–190 (1988)
- Kern, W. H., Koehler, P. G. & Patterson, R. S. Diel Patterns of Cat Flea (Siphonaptera: Pulicidae) Egg and Fecal Deposition // Journal of Medical Entomology 29, 203–206 (1992)
- Rust, M. K. Interhost movement of adult cat fleas (Siphonaptera: Pulicidae) // J. Med. Entomol. 31, 486–489 (1994)
- Hinkle, N. C., Koehler, P. G. & Patterson, R. S. Host Grooming Efficiency for Regulation of Cat Flea (Siphonaptera: Pulicidae) Populations // Journal of Medical Entomology 35, 266–269 (1998)
- Dryden, M. W. Host association, on-host longevity and egg production of Ctenocephalides felis felis // Veterinary Parasitology 34, 117–122 (1989)
- Dryden, M. W. Biology of Fleas of Dogs and Cats // The Compendium on Continuing Education for the Practicing Veterinarian 15, 569–578 (1993)
Fossil fleas have been found in Baltic amber and Lower Oligocene deposits near Aix (France). To collect and study these animals, they are fixed on glass slides, since they have to be examined under a microscope. The world's best collection of fleas, now kept in the British Museum, was collected in Tring (England) by N. Rothschild and K. Jordan.
Life cycle.
The development of fleas occurs with complete metamorphosis, i.e. a larva hatches from the egg, which becomes a pupa, and from that, in turn, an adult insect (imago) emerges. Only adults are bloodsuckers, and the larvae feed on the feces of adult fleas and various organic debris. They receive the coagulated blood necessary for development in the form of undigested particles released from the anus of the imago. The flea “shoots” dry, oval, whitish eggs; if this occurs on the host's body, from there they usually fall into its nest or onto the ground. The eggs hatch into thin, whitish, legless, eyeless larvae. In flea-infested homes, they can be found in floor cracks or under carpets. In basements where cats or dogs frequent, fleas live among the garbage. Cat, dog and human fleas are found on lawns where the larvae feed on plant or animal debris in sheltered areas. Sometimes farmers are very annoyed by human fleas that inhabit pigsties in large numbers.
The development of the egg lasts from two days to two weeks, and the larvae - from a week to several months. After this, the larva spins a cobweb cocoon around itself, in which it pupates. The pupal stage also lasts from a week to several months, and the imago, depending on the circumstances, can remain inside the cocoon for months, for example in empty houses, where the insect goes hunting only by reacting to the vibration of the floor under the feet of a rare visitor.
Damage caused by fleas.
In houses where cats or dogs are kept, there are so many fleas that it is almost impossible to live there: the bites of these insects greatly bother most people. The reaction varies from practically zero to allergic: the bitten area becomes very swollen and inflamed. By piercing the skin, the flea injects saliva into the wound, which causes itching or more serious consequences. Flea allergies can be so severe that a special “flea antigen” has been developed to alleviate it.
Most fleas spend a lot of time away from their host, but in some species, fertilized females burrow into the host's skin. Example - sand flea ( Tunga penetrans), which can lead to the appearance of sometimes festering ulcers on the human body. Another species, the suction flea ( Echidnophage gallinacea), forms entire clusters on the heads of birds or on the ears of dogs and cats.
Being intermediate hosts of worms, such as the pumpkin tapeworm, fleas can cause helminthiasis in humans. This worm usually lives in the digestive tract of dogs and cats. Its posterior egg-filled “segments” (proglottids) are released into the environment with the host’s feces or independently crawl out of the anus and become accessible to flea larvae. The worm eggs they swallow hatch into larvae, which then encyst. These cysts, or fins, are present in the adult flea emerging from the pupa. When a dog bites off fleas that irritate it, it often swallows whole insects or parts thereof along with the fleas, which develop in its digestive tract into an adult worm. Remains of chewed infectious fleas can get from a dog's muzzle onto a person's hands, and from them into his mouth. As a result, infection with worms will occur.
Among the diseases, besides the plague, fleas spread, for example, endemic typhus.
The word “flea” and its derivatives are included in the popular names of some jumping insects, which belong to completely different orders. Examples are flea beetles, or flea beetles (beetles of the leaf beetle family), and psyllids (Homoptera). The water flea (Daphnia) is a small crustacean from the group of Cladocerans, moving through the water in jerks that resemble flea jumps.
Larval stage
How do fleas reproduce in cats in an apartment? After the eggs mature, larvae emerge from them, which, according to their appearance, resemble miniature worms, barely visible to the naked eye. The latter are able to maintain vital activity by absorbing all kinds of organic substances, be it dead epidermis, small grains of food or the excrement of adult fleas. During development, the size of the larvae increases significantly. Having gained weight, such individuals pupate, protecting their own body from unfavorable conditions.
Pupa stage
Adult stage
After mating, about fifteen eggs are quickly formed in the female’s body. In cases where the female does not experience problems with access to food, the entire clutch is born simultaneously. If the flea suffers from food deficiency, the eggs reproduce gradually. If there is a good food supply, one sexually mature individual is capable of producing up to five hundred embryos.
How do fleas reproduce in cats? After the eggs mature, the latter are fired from the female's abdomen. Thus, masonry can end up on a wide variety of surfaces.
Lifespan of fleas
On average, it takes no more than three weeks for a mature flea to appear, given favorable conditions. If during development the insect suffers from any negative factors, the stages of development slow down. In some cases, even fully formed individuals do not leave their protective cocoons for a long time. Under such circumstances, underdeveloped insects are capable of falling into inactivity for up to a year and a half.
As you can see, fleas in cats can reproduce quite quickly. If small bloodsuckers are discovered, it is extremely important to immediately begin exterminating them. An effective solution to protect your pet from attacks by adults is the use of special collars impregnated with insecticides, as well as sprays and drops that are applied to the skin in the area of the animal’s withers.
