Order SIPHONAPTERA. 



Contains the fleas which are associated with the Diptera or flies, because of 

 the similarity in the early stages, though the adults, because of their parasitic 

 mode of life, have lost all trace of wings. Fleas are usually brown in color, 

 transversely flattened, the edges of the segments set with stiff spines directed 

 backward, and the hind legs enormously developed for leaping. 



They drop their eggs in the sleeping quarters, den or nest of their host, and 

 from them hatch slender, white, worm-like larvae. These feed on refuse 

 animal or vegetable debris found in such places, and the pupa hides in crevices 

 or in houses in the cracks between the boards of floors. 



Fig. 289. — Rabbit-flea : much enlarged. 



Sometimes a house will become over-run with fleas, and in such cases the 

 sleeping quarters of the dog or cat must be thoroughly cleared out so as to 

 destroy all breeding places. The dog or cat must be washed with carbolic soap 

 to rid it of fleas, and may then be used as a trap. All the fleas will find their 

 way to him or her sooner or later, and by washing every other day for two or 

 three weeks they will be all destroyed. If breeding in the floor cracks is sus- 

 pected, use gasoline to destroy larvae and even eggs. 



If the cat objects to being washed, use pyrethrum well rubbed into the fur at 

 short intervals until no more fleas are found. If she still objects, radical 

 measures are indicated. 



(615) 



