Who do reproductive fleas bite? - briefly
Adult female fleas that are ready to lay eggs feed on the blood of warm‑blooded mammals such as rodents, cats, dogs, and humans. The blood meal supplies the nutrients required for egg production.
Who do reproductive fleas bite? - in detail
Reproductive fleas require a blood meal to develop eggs, so they bite the animals on which they are feeding. Female fleas ingest blood, enlarge, and then deposit eggs in the surrounding environment. The choice of host depends on species, habitat, and host availability.
- Domestic mammals: cats, dogs, and humans are common targets for the cat flea (Ctenocephalides felis) and the dog flea (Ctenocephalides canis). Both species will bite any of these mammals when they share the same environment.
- Rodents: the Oriental rat flea (Xenopsylla cheopis) primarily feeds on rats and mice but will also bite humans if rodents are scarce.
- Wild mammals and birds: certain flea species, such as the northern rabbit flea (Spilopsyllus cuniculi), prefer rabbits and other lagomorphs; others may bite ground‑dwelling birds when they are the only available hosts.
Female fleas bite only when they need to mature eggs; males feed rarely, if at all. After a blood meal, a female can lay several hundred eggs over a few days. Eggs fall off the host, hatch in the environment, and larvae develop on organic debris before emerging as adults ready to seek a new host.
Host selection is driven by proximity and suitability for blood acquisition. Fleas do not discriminate between species once they encounter a viable blood source, but preferences observed in laboratory and field studies reflect evolutionary adaptation to particular hosts. Consequently, the animals most frequently bitten by breeding fleas are those that provide regular access to blood, primarily domestic and wild mammals sharing the flea’s habitat.