SURVIVAL AND REPRODUCTION OF THE CAT FLEA (SIPHONAPTERA, PULICIDAE) FED HUMAN BLOOD ON AN ARTIFICIAL MEMBRANE SYSTEM

Adult cat fleas, Ctenocephalides fells (Bouche), survive and reproduce when fed human blood through an artificial membrane system. When a do g hair substrate was included in cages with the fleas, mean adult mort ality was 2.4 after 12 d of bloodfeeding. Egg production began after 3 d and was continuous for 12 d, ranging from 3 to 4 eggs per female pe r day. In cages without hair, mean adult mortality was 61.2% after 12 d of bloodfeeding. Egg production began after 2 d, reached a maximum o f two eggs per female per day after 7 d, and decreased thereafter. No significant differences in egg hatch were seen in treatment groups sam pled from 5 to 7 d after the onset of bloodfeeding. After 7 d, however , egg hatch for fleas maintained in cages without hair was significant ly lower than in cages where fleas were maintained on dog hair. Adult emergence from these lan;ae did not differ significantly between the t wo groups. Egg hatch and adult emergence in both groups of fleas fed o n human blood did not differ significantly from egg hatch and adult em ergence in fleas fed on colony cats.