Xenopsylla spp.

Characteristics 

• Insect: Three part body (head/thorax /abdomen) and 6 legs
• oval insects
• laterally compressed
• Size 1-6 mm
• No wings
• Have single or a few bristle hairs on the head part 
• Have Ctenidia (comb like spines) on the head part
• Holometabolous development
• Three pairs of legs (hind legs for jumping)
• and a triangular head
• Both females and males feed on blood
• Not host-specific
• Immediately leave dead hosts (reservoirs)

• Medical significance: 

• A crucial factor in the transmission of the plague Medically
• Plague (Yersinia pestis)
• Murine typhus (Rickettsia typhi) 
• Tapeworm  (Dipylidium caninum)

Life cycle:

• Complete metamorphosis (holometabol development) from egg to pupae 23-47 days 
• Female lays 20-25 eggs per day
• Only adults are blood feeder, become 1 ½ years old
• Eggs, larvae and pupae are found on the ground or in bedsteads (larvae feed on organic material)
• Adult flea emerge from the cocoon by an outside stimuli (vibrations, sound, heat, carbon dioxide)