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Fleas are small laterally compressed (flattened from side to side)
holometabolous (having a complete metamorphosis) insects. They are all
apterous (flightless [from a = not, and pteron = wing]).
They have no eyes though 2 simple ocelli may be present, their antennae
short and stout and their adult mouthparts are adapted for piercing and
sucking. The larvae are eruciform and apodous meaning they look like a
caterpillar with no legs The adults are all blood sucking ectoparsites
( a parasite which lives on the outside of its
host) of mammals and birds, while in general the larvae are detritivores
feeding on minute particles of discarded organic matter still adhering to the host, or on the substrate of a commonly used sleeping place or
nest. The bodies of both adults and larvae have many backward pointing
hairs, it is these, and the powerful leg muscles which make it so hard
to hold a flea between you finger tips, they always slip out. |