The Cat flea (Ctenocephalides felis) is one of the most abundant and widespread fleas in the world. Scientific classification or biological classification is how biologists group and categorize extinct and living species of organisms. ... Kingdoms Animalia - Animals Fungi Plantae - Plants Protista An eukaryote (yoo-KAR-ee-ot) is an organism with a complex cell or cells, in which the genetic material is organized into a membrane-bound nucleus or nuclei. ... Phyla Subregnum Parazoa Porifera Subregnum Agnotozoa Placozoa Orthonectida Rhombozoa Subregnum Eumetazoa Radiata (unranked) Ctenophora Cnidaria Bilateria (unranked) Acoelomorpha Myxozoa Superphylum Deuterostomia Chordata Hemichordata Echinodermata Chaetognatha Superphylum Ecdysozoa Kinorhyncha Loricifera Priapulida Nematoda Nematomorpha Onychophora Tardigrada Arthropoda Superphylum Platyzoa Platyhelminthes Gastrotricha Rotifera Acanthocephala Gnathostomulida Micrognathozoa Cycliophora Superphylum Lophotrochozoa Sipuncula Nemertea Phoronida Bryozoa... Subphyla and Classes Subphylum Trilobitomorpha Trilobita - trilobites (extinct) Subphylum Chelicerata Arachnida - spiders,scorpions, etc. ... Orders See taxonomy Insects are invertebrates that are taxonomically referred to as the class Insecta. ... Orders     Palaeodictyoptera - extinct     Ephemeroptera (mayflies)     Odonata (dragonflies and damselflies)   Infraclass Neoptera     Blattodea (cockroaches)     Mantodea (mantids)     Isoptera (termites)     Zoraptera     Grylloblattodea (rock crawlers)     Dermaptera (earwigs)     Plecoptera (stoneflies)     Orthoptera (grasshoppers, crickets, katydids)     Phasmatodea (walking sticks, timemas)     Embioptera (webspinners)     Mantophasmatodea (gladiators)    Superorder Hemipterodea     Psocoptera (booklice, barklice)     Phthiraptera (lice)     Hemiptera (true bugs)     Thysanoptera (thrips)    Superorder... Orders     Blattodea (cockroaches)     Mantodea (mantids)     Isoptera (termites)     Zoraptera     Grylloblattodea     Dermaptera (earwigs)     Plecoptera (stoneflies)     Orthoptera (grasshoppers, crickets, katydids)     Phasmatodea (walking sticks, timemas)     Embioptera (webspinners)     Mantophasmatodea (gladiators)    Superorder Hemipterodea     Psocoptera (booklice, barklice)     Phthiraptera (lice)     Hemiptera (true bugs)     Thysanoptera (thrips)    Superorder Endopterygota     Miomoptera - extinct     Megaloptera (alderflies, etc. ... Orders Coleoptera (beetles) Diptera (flies and relatives) Hymenoptera (wasps and relatives) Lepidoptera (butterflies and moths) Mecoptera Megaloptera Miomoptera (extinct) Neuroptera Raphidioptera (snakeflies) Siphonaptera (fleas) Strepsiptera Trichoptera (caddisflies) The Endopterygota, also known as Holometabola, are insects of the subclass Pterygota which go through distinctive larval, pupal, and adult stages. ... For the musician, a member of the Red Hot Chili Peppers, see Michael Balzary. ... In biology, binomial nomenclature is the formal method of naming species. ... Families Tungidae â€“ sticktight and chigoe fleas (chiggers) Pulicidae â€“ common fleas Coptopsyllidae Vermipsyllidae â€“ carnivore fleas Rhopalopsyllidae â€“ marsupial fleas Hypsophthalmidae Stephanocircidae Pygiopsyllidae Hystrichopsyllidae â€“ rat and mouse fleas Leptopsyllidae â€“ bird and rabbit fleas Ischnopsyllidae â€“ bat fleas Ceratophyllidae Amphipsyllidae Malacopsyllidae Dolichopsyllidae â€“ rodent fleas Ctenopsyllidae Flea is the common name for any of the small...

Overview

The cat flea's primary host is the domestic cat, but this is also the primary flea infesting dogs in most of the world. The cat flea can also maintain its life cycle on other carnivores and on the Virginia opossum. Rabbits, rodents, ruminants and humans can be infested or bitten, but a population of cat fleas cannot be sustained by these aberrant hosts. Trinomial name Felis silvestris catus Schreber, 1775 For alternative meanings see cat (disambiguation). ... Trinomial name Canis lupus familiaris The dog is a mammal in the order Carnivora. ... Life cycle refers to: Biological life cycle New product development Honeybee life cycle This is a disambiguation page — a navigational aid which lists other pages that might otherwise share the same title. ... This tigers sharp teeth and strong jaws are the classical physical traits expected from carnivorous mammalian predators A carnivore (IPA: ), meaning meat eater (Latin carne meaning flesh and vorare meaning to devour), is an animal that eats a diet consisting mainly of meat, whether it comes from live animals... Binomial name Didelphis virginiana (Kerr, 1792) The Virginia Opossum (Didelphis virginiana) is the only marsupial found in North America. ... Genera Pentalagus Bunolagus Nesolagus Romerolagus Brachylagus Sylvilagus Oryctolagus Poelagus Rabbits are small mammals in the family Leporidae, found in many parts of the world. ... Families Many, see text The order Rodentia is the most numerous of all the branches on the mammal family tree. ... Families Antilocapridae Bovidae Cervidae Giraffidae Moschidae Tragulidae A ruminant is any hooved animal that digests its food in two steps, first by eating the raw material and regurgitating a semi-digested form known as cud, then eating the cud, a process called ruminating. ... Trinomial name Homo sapiens sapiens Linnaeus, 1758 Humans, or human beings, are bipedal apes belonging to the mammalian species Homo sapiens (Latin for wise man or knowing man) under the family Hominidae (known as the great apes). ...

Life Cycle

The female cat flea lays her eggs on the host, but the eggs, once dry, are designed to filter out of the haircoat of the host into the resting and sheltering area of the host.

Flea larva showing red ingested blood

The eggs hatch into larvae, which are negatively phototaxis, meaning that they hide from light in the substrate. Flea larvae feed on a variety of organic substances, but most importantly subsist on dried blood that is filtered out of the haircoat of the host after it is deposited there as adult flea fecal material. Thus the adult population on the host feeds the larval population in the host's environment. Image File history File links Download high resolution version (913x985, 480 KB) Keywords: en: flea larva parasite de: Floh Larve Parasit File links The following pages on the English Wikipedia link to this file (pages on other projects are not listed): Flea ... Image File history File links Download high resolution version (913x985, 480 KB) Keywords: en: flea larva parasite de: Floh Larve Parasit File links The following pages on the English Wikipedia link to this file (pages on other projects are not listed): Flea ... Larvae are the plural of larva, juvenile form of animals with indirect development. ... Phototaxis is an organisms automatic movement toward or away from light. ...

Flea fecal material, here combed from a cat, is also called flea dirt

Flea larvae metamorphose through 3 stages before spinning a cocoon and entering the pupal stage. The pupal stage varies greatly in length; the pre-emergent flea does not normally emerge as a young adult flea until the presence of a potential host is perceived by warmth, vibration or carbon dioxide production. Newly emerged fleas are stimulated to jump to a new host within seconds of emerging from the cocoon. The new flea begins feeding on host blood within minutes. [1], [2], [3] Image File history File links Download high resolution version (1280x960, 472 KB) Summary This was brushed out of the cat this morning Licensing I, the creator of this work, hereby grant the permission to copy, distribute and/or modify this document under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License... Image File history File links Download high resolution version (1280x960, 472 KB) Summary This was brushed out of the cat this morning Licensing I, the creator of this work, hereby grant the permission to copy, distribute and/or modify this document under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License... Cocoon has a number of meanings. ...

Effects on the hosts

A few fleas on adult dogs or cats cause little harm unless the host becomes allergic to substances in saliva. The disease that results is called flea allergy dermatitis. Small animals with large infestations can lose enough blood to fleas feeding that anemia may result. Fleas are also responsible for disease transmission. This article needs cleanup. ... Flea allergy dermatitis is an eczematous itchy skin disease of dogs and cats. ... This article discusses the medical condition. ...

Disease transmission

Cat fleas can transmit other parasites and infections to dogs and cats and also to humans. The most prominent of these are Bartonella, the tapeworm Dipylidium caninum, and murine typhus. A parasite is an organism that lives in or on the living tissue of a host organism at the expense of it. ... Bartonella is a genus of bacterium. ... Tapeworm can mean: Tapeworm, parasitic flatworms that live as adults in the digestive tracts of vertebrates. ... Dipylidium caninum, also called the cucumber tapeworm or the double-pore tapeworm, is a cyclophyllid cestode that infects organisms afflicted with fleas, including canids, felids, and pet-owners, especially children. ... Civilian Public Service worker distributes rat poison for typhus control in Gulfport Mississippi, ca. ...

References

• Flea, University of Florida IFAS Extension
• Purdue University Medical Entomology
• Rust M K, Dryden MW: The Biology, Ecology, and Management of the cat flea