FLEA LIFE STAGES

	Anterior end.  The cat flea is cosmopolitan in distribution and the genus is recognized for bearing genal and pronotal combs. The sloping forehead is the hallmark of C.f.felis. The forehead of Ctenocephalides canis is more rounded.
	Hind tibia.  The distribution of setae on the hind tibia supplies another diagnostic criterion. Between the postmedian and apical long setae on the trailing edge of the hind tibia of Ctenocephalides felis felis there is one notch that bears a short stout spine.
	Second instar cat flea larvae.  The larvae of all three instars feed principally on the feces of the adult flea which is only slightly digested dried host's blood and, until the larva is about to pupate, it keeps its gut full of it.
	Third instar cat flea larva.  The larvae moults twice, the final instar being about 5.0 mm long. At the end of its development, the larva empties the gut and spins a whitish, loose, ovoid cocoon, and becomes a pupa.
	Cat flea pupae.  When fully grown, the third instar larva stop eating, empties its digestive tract, and spins a silken cocoon. In nature, such cocoons may be camouflaged with particles of debris such as sand grains and bits of flea feces, which tends to stick to the cocoon and neatly encasing it.
	Teased open pupal case showing one pupa in more advanced metamorphosis.  During the pupal period which lasts about a week, the wormlike larva is almost completely resorbed and made over into the six-legged adult flea.
	Adult flea removed from the cocoon.  At  the end of the pupal period, a white, adult flea becomes recognizable in form and gradually darkens through tanning of its exoskeleton.

The above table was formatted from its original version from:

University of São Paulo
Institute of Biomedical Sciences
Department of Parasitology
Marcelo de Campos Pereira, PhD

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