1. FLEAS (Cat and Dog) By: Sarah Robinson

2. Description Size: 1/8 inch (3mm) Size: 1/8 inch (3mm) Color: Very Dark Color: Very Dark Wingless Wingless 3 pair of legs, 3 pair of legs, Third pair modified for jumping Third pair modified for jumping Vertically flat like a fish Vertically flat like a fish

3. Classification Phylum: Arthropoda Subphylum: Hexapoda Class: Insecta SubClass:: Pterogota Order: Siphonaptera Ctenocephalides Canis (dog fleas) Ctenocephalides Felis (cat fleas)

4. Geographic Range EVERY WHERE MAMMALS CAN BE FOUND

5. HABITAT THE COOL AND DRIER FALL WEATHER HOUSE PETS MAINTAIN SMALL FLEA POPULATIONS IN THE WINTER NUMBERS WILL INCREASE IN THE SPRING BIGGEST POULATION IN THE SUMMER

6. Life History Feeding habits: Flakes of skin Dried Blood Tissue Reproducing males and females must have blood

7. Life History Nesting habits: Fleas nest in there host’s hair The host is a mammal of some sort Mostly dogs, cats, and humans

8. Life History Reproduction: Males deposit sperm directly into the reproductive organs of the females. The male will clasp on to the sides of a female. With special claspers at the tip of his abdomen he locks his body to the tip of the females abdomen.

9. Life History Life Cycle Female fleas lay eggs in host’s hair The egg drops off and hatches into a tiny, hairy worm like larvae. Larvae pupate and new adults find a host immediately and eat They need blood to survive and produce eggs.

11. Life History Care of young: Fleas don’t care for there young they lay there eggs and leave Special adaptation: Some believe the third leg was an adaptation so the flea could jump easier and faster, but there's no hard evidence Resent studies: there are no resent studies that I could discover

12. References adult flea. (n.d.). Retrieved 2010, from Do it Yourselp pest control: www.pestproducts.com Day, E. (1996). Fleas. Retrieved 2010, from http://sites.ext.vt.edu/departments/entomology/factsheets/fleas.h tml Dittmar. (n.d.). About Fleas. Retrieved 2010, from Web.mac.com Fleas: Siphonaptera. (2010). Retrieved 2010, from http://animals.jrank.org/pages/2490/Fleas-Siphonaptera.html Kozhukhov, O. (2007). Everything about fleas. Retrieved 2010, from Everything about: http://www.everythingabout.net/articles/biology/animals/arthropo ds/insects/flea/ Pickering, J. (2010, February 15). Discover Life. Retrieved 2010, from Discover Life: www.discoverlife.org