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| Also known as: | Hedgehog flea |
| Archaeopsylla erinacei | |
|---|---|
| Class | Insecta |
| Order | Siphonaptera |
| Family | Pulicide |
Hosts
Hedgehogs, cats and dogs.
Identification
The adults are 2-3.5mm in length, and of the family Pulicide. They have anything from 1-3 genal combs, and a pronotal comb.
Life Cycle
Before the female lays eggs, it must first have several large blood feeds on the host. It then lays its eggs on the host, which shortly hatch into larvae. The larvae undergo three transformations, before entering the pupae stages, and finally become fully reproductive adults.
They spend most of their life cycle on the host.
References
Taylor, M.A, Coop, R.L., Wall,R.L. (2007) Veterinary Parasitology Blackwell Publishing