10 Facts about Fleas – Facts and Fun

Facts about Fleas tell you about small flightless insects. Their primary diet of fleas is the blood from their host. They live as parasitic animals. The host includes birds and mammals. The brown color is spotted on the adult fleas. They have the body length of 0.12 inches or 3 mm. The fleas will never be dislodged because of the strong claws. The feathers or fur of the host will never prevent them to move because of its flattened body. Let us check other interesting facts about fleas below:

Facts about Fleas 1: the body features

Fleas are capable to jump due to the hind legs. The adaptation also takes place on the mouth, which allows them to suck blood and pierce the skin of the host. They are flightless due to the lack of wings.

Facts about Fleas 2: the larvae

The main diet of larvae fleas is the organic debris. They have no limbs, which remind with the worm.

Facts about Fleas 3: species

The scientists have described around 2,500 species of fleas in the world. Some fleas exclusively live on a single host group.

Facts about Fleas 4: the host

The bats are often affected by Ischnopsyllidae. The armadillos are influenced by Malacopsyllidae. The elephant shrews are affected by Chimaeropsyllidae. Do you know that the bubonic plague is affected by Xenopsylla cheopis, which became the vector of Yersinia pestis?

Facts about Fleas 5: the disease of bubonic plague

The black rats spread the bubonic plague. Before it infected human being, the black rats were bitten by fleas.

Facts about Fleas 6: the major outbreaks

The Black Death and Plague of Justinian were the two major outbreaks affected by fleas. Many people were killed during the plague.

Facts about Fleas 7: in literature

Flea has been applied in a number of literary texts. One of them is the Flea by John Donne. A film by Charlie Chaplin also focuses on the fleas. Modest Mussorgsky wrote music about the Flea.