flea
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flea
[fle]a small, wingless, bloodsucking insect. Many fleas are ectoparasites and may act as disease carriers; they act as vectors of such diseases as plague, tularemia, and brucellosis.
flea
(flē),An insect of the order Siphonaptera, marked by lateral compression, sucking mouthparts, extraordinary jumping powers, and ectoparasitic adult life in the hair and feathers of warm-blooded animals. Important fleas include Ctenocephalides felis (cat flea), or C. canis (dog flea), Pulex irritans (human flea), Tunga penetrans (chigger, chigoe, or sand flea), Echidnophaga gallinacea (sticktight flea), Xenopsylla (rat flea), and Ceratophyllus.
See also: Copepoda.
See also: Copepoda.
flea
(flē)n.
Any of various small, wingless, bloodsucking insects of the order Siphonaptera that are parasitic on mammals and birds and can jump long distances.
flea
A wingless, 1-4 mm blood-sucking member of order Siphonaptera Vector for Bubonic plague, rickettsiosis Fleas of interest Human flea–Pulex irritans, oriental rat flea–Xenopsylla cheopis, water flea–Cocepodflea
(flē)An insect of the order Siphonaptera, distinguished by lateral compression, sucking mouthparts, extraordinary jumping powers, and ectoparasitic adult life in the hair and feathers of warm-blooded animals.
flea
(fle)An insect of the order Siphonaptera. Fleas are wingless, suck blood, and have legs adapted for jumping. Usually they are parasitic on warm-blooded animals, including humans. Fleas of the genus Xenopsylla transmit the plague bacillus (Yersinia pestis) from rats to humans. Fleas may transmit other diseases such as tularemia, endemic typhus, and brucellosis. They are intermediate hosts for cat and dog tapeworms.
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FLEA