What do intimate fleas look like? - briefly
Intimate fleas are tiny, dark‑brown, wingless insects about 1–3 mm long, with a laterally flattened body and powerful hind legs adapted for jumping. Their heads are small with short antennae, and they possess comb‑like spines on the thorax that aid movement through hair or fabric.
What do intimate fleas look like? - in detail
Intimate fleas are small, laterally flattened insects measuring roughly 1 mm to 3 mm in length. Their bodies consist of three main regions—head, thorax, and abdomen—each covered by a hard, chitinous exoskeleton that gives a glossy, dark brown to reddish hue. The head bears a pair of short, elbow‑shaped antennae and robust, piercing‑sucking mouthparts adapted for blood extraction. Compound eyes are reduced, often appearing as tiny dark spots on the head capsule.
The thorax supports six jointed legs, each ending in a pair of comb‑like spines (the “genal and pronotal combs”) that enable the flea to cling to host hair or fur. Legs are long relative to body width, permitting rapid jumping; the hind legs are especially powerful, capable of propelling the insect up to 150 times its body length. The abdomen is segmented, visibly swollen after a blood meal, and contains the reproductive organs. In females, the abdomen expands dramatically during egg development, giving a more rounded silhouette compared with the flatter male form.
Key visual markers include:
- Coloration: Dark brown to reddish‑black; lighter coloration on the ventral side.
- Body shape: Flattened laterally, facilitating movement through host hair.
- Comb structures: Two rows of stiff spines on the head (genal) and thorax (pronotal) used for attachment.
- Leg morphology: Long, slender legs with enlarged femora on the hind pair for jumping.
- Mouthparts: Needle‑like proboscis concealed within a protective sheath when not feeding.
Larval stages differ markedly. Larvae are whitish, soft, and C‑shaped, measuring about 2 mm when fully grown. They lack legs and possess a pair of short, hair‑like bristles near the head used for sensory detection. Pupae form within a silken cocoon that may be attached to the host environment; the pupal case appears as a brown, oval capsule roughly 2 mm long.
Overall, the intimate flea’s compact, dark, and highly specialized morphology reflects adaptation to a life spent in close contact with mammalian hosts, enabling efficient locomotion, attachment, and blood feeding.