Ctenocephalides felis, cat flea

Taxonomc lineage

cellular organisms - Eukaryota - Fungi/Metazoa group - Metazoa - Eumetazoa - Bilateria - Coelomata - Protostomia - Panarthropoda - Arthropoda - Mandibulata - Pancrustacea - Hexapoda - Insecta - Dicondylia - Pterygota - Neoptera - Endopterygota - Siphonaptera - Pulicomorpha - Pulicoidea - Pulicidae - Archaeopsyllinae - Ctenocephalides - Ctenocephalides felis

Brief facts

The cat flea, Ctenocephalides felis, is the most common flea species and the most important ectoparasite of domestic cats and dogs worldwide. The annual expenditures by pet owners for flea control products in the United States exceed $1 billion. Other fleas commonly recovered from dogs and cats are Ctenocephalides canis, Pulex simulans, and Echidnophaga gallinacea.

In addition to infesting domesticated dogs and cats, C. felis can infest a wide diversity of other mammalian hosts. In North America, a number of wild species are parasitized by C. felis, including coyote, red and gray fox, bobcat, Florida panther, skunk, raccoon, opossum, ferret, and several rodent species. Other animals that have been reported as hosts of the cat flea include domestic rabbits, horses, cattle, sheep, goats, jackals, poultry, and koalas.

C. felis is unable to survive exposure to temperatures below −1°C for more than five days at any life stage. Its survival and maintenance in northern areas is likely to occur through several mechanisms:

the presence of adults on domestic and feral dogs and cats;

the presence of adults on urbanized small wild animals (such as raccoons and opossums);

delayed development of immature stages in freeze-protected underground dens of wildlife;

delayed development of pupae and emergence of adults in the in-home environment.

C. felis will orient and move up to 8.4 m towards a light source, although their jumping and collection in traps are greatly enhanced by a short interruption of the light, which may mimic host shadowing. C. felis prefer targets at 39°C over targets at 27°C. Other factors such as carbon dioxide and air currents stimulate jumping.