How do bed fleas reproduce? - briefly
After ingesting blood, a female bed flea lays 30–50 eggs on the mattress or surrounding cracks; the eggs hatch into larvae that feed on organic debris, spin cocoons, and develop into adult fleas within one to two weeks.
How do bed fleas reproduce? - in detail
Bed fleas (Ctenocephalides spp.) reproduce through a strictly sexual cycle that begins with adult mating on the host’s body. Males locate females by detecting pheromones released from the female’s abdomen. Copulation occurs within minutes, after which the female stores sperm in a spermatheca for repeated fertilization of successive egg batches.
After mating, the female seeks a protected microhabitat—typically cracks in bedding, mattress seams, or floorboards—where she deposits eggs. She lays 20–30 eggs per day, up to 2,500 over her lifespan of about three weeks. Eggs are oval, 0.5 mm long, and hatch within 2–5 days under temperatures of 20–30 °C and relative humidity above 70 %.
Hatching releases larvae that are blind, worm‑like, and avoid light. Larvae feed on organic debris, adult flea feces (flea dirt), and skin scales. They undergo three instars, each lasting 3–6 days, before constructing a silken cocoon in which pupation occurs. The pupal stage can last from a few days to several months, depending on environmental cues such as temperature, humidity, and host vibrations. When a host is nearby, vibrational stimuli trigger adult emergence.
Adult fleas emerge from the cocoon, seek a warm‑blooded host, and begin feeding within minutes. Blood meals trigger ovarian development; each engorged female produces a new batch of eggs, continuing the cycle. The entire process—from egg to adult—takes 2–4 weeks under optimal conditions, but can be prolonged by unfavorable climate, allowing the population to persist in indoor environments.