See also:

• FLEA (O. Eng. fleah, or flea, cognate with flee, to run away from, to take flight)

FLEA (O. Eng. fleah, or flea, cognate with flee, to run away from, to take See also:

• FLIGHT

flight)  , a name typically applied to Pulex irritans, a well-known See also:

• BLOOD

blood-sucking See also:

• INSECT

insect-See also:

• PARASITE (From Gr. irapa, beside, Tiros food)

parasite of See also:

• MAN
• MAN, ISLE OF (anc. Mona)

man and other mammals, remarkable for its See also:

• POWERS, HIRAM (1805-1873)

powers of leaping, and nearly See also:

• COSMOPOLITAN (Gr. Kbvµos, world, and IroXirgs, citizen)

cosmopolitan . In See also:

• ORDINARY (med. Lat. ordinarius, Fr. ordinaire)

ordinary See also:

• LANGUAGE (adapted from the Fr. langage, from langue, tongue, Lat. lingua)

language the name is used for any See also:

• SPECIES

species of Siphonaptera (otherwise known as Aphaniptera), which, though formerly regarded as a suborder of See also:

• DIPTERA (Sir, double, arepa, wings)

Diptera (q.v.), are now considered to be a See also:

• SEPARATE

separate See also:

• ORDER
• ORDER (through Fr. ordre, for earlier ordene, from Lat. ordo, ordinis, rank, service, arrangement; the ultimate source is generally taken to be the root seen in Lat. oriri, rise, arise, begin; cf. " origin ")
• ORDER, HOLY

order of See also:

• INSECTS

insects . All Siphonaptera, of which more than See also:

• LOO (formerly called " Lanterloo," Fr. lanturlu, the refrain of a popular 17th-century song)

loo species are known, are parasitic on mammals or birds . The See also:

• MAJORITY (Fr. majorite; Med. Lat. majoritas; Lat. major, greater)

majority of the species belong to the See also:

• FAMILY

family Pulicidae, of which P. irritans may be taken as the type; but the order also includes the Sarcopsyllidae, the See also:

• FEMALES

females of which See also:

• FIX, THEODORE (180o-1846)

fix themselves firmly to their See also:

• HOST

host, and the Ceratopsyllidae, or See also:

• BAT

bat-fleas . Fleas are wingless insects, with a laterally compressed See also:

• BODY

body, small and indistinctly separated See also:

• HEAD (in 0. Eng. heafad; the word is common to Teutonic languages; cf. Dutch hoofd, Ger. Haupt, generally taken to be in origin connected with Lat. caput, Gr. KerbOvi7)
• HEAD, SIR EDMUND WALKER, BART
• HEAD, SIR FRANCIS BOND, BART

head, and See also:

• SHORT, FRANCIS JOB (1857– )

short thick antennae situated in cavities somewhat behind and above the See also:

• SIMPLE

simple eyes, which are always See also:

• MINUTE
• MINUTE (Lat. minutes, small; minuere, to make less)

minute and sometimes absent . The structure of the mouth-parts is different from that seen in any other insects . The actual piercing See also:

• ORGANS

organs are the mandibles, while the upper See also:

• LIP (a word common in various forms, to Teutonic languages, cf Ger. Lippe, Dan. laebe; Lat. labium is cognate)

lip or See also:

• LABRUM (Lat. for " lip ")

labrum forms a sucking See also:

• TUBE (Lat. tuba)

tube . The maxillae are not piercing organs, and their See also:

• FUNCTION

function is to protect the mandibles and labrum and separate the hairs or feathers of the host . Maxillary and labial palpi are also See also:

• PRESENT

present, and the latter, together with the labrum or See also:

• LOWER

lower lip, See also:

• FORM (Lat. forma)

form the rostrum . Fleas are oviparous, and undergo a very See also:

• COMPLETE

complete See also:

• METAMORPHOSIS

metamorphosis . The footless larvae are elongate, See also:

• WORM

worm-like and very active; they feed upon almost any See also:

• KIND (O. E. ge-cynde, from the same root as is seen in " kin," supra)

kind of See also:

• WASTE (O. Fr. wast, guast, gast, gaste; Lat. vastus, vast, desolate)

waste See also:

• ANIMAL
• ANIMAL (Lat. animalis, from anima, breath, soul)

animal See also:

• MATTER

matter, and when full-grown form a silken cocoon . The human See also:

• FLEA (O. Eng. fleah, or flea, cognate with flee, to run away from, to take flight)

flea is considerably exceeded in See also:

• SIZE

size by certain other species foundtalpae, a parasite of the See also:

• MOLE
• MOLE, LOUIS MATHIEU, COMTE (1781—1855)
• MOLE, MATHIEU (1584—1656)

mole, See also:

• SHREW

shrew and other small mammals, attains a length of 5i millimetres; another large species infests the See also:

• INDIAN

Indian See also:

• PORCUPINE (Fr., pore-epic, " spiny pig ")

porcupine .

Of the Sarcopsyllidae the best known species is the " jigger " or " chigoe " (Dermatophilus penetrans), indigenous in tropical See also:

• SOUTH
• SOUTH, ROBERT (1634–1716)

South See also:

• AMERICA

America and introduced into See also:

• WEST
• WEST, BENJAMIN (1738-1820)
• WEST, NICHOLAS (1461-1533)

West See also:

• AFRICA
• AFRICA, ROMAN

Africa during the second See also:

• HALF

half of last See also:

• CENTURY (from Lat. centuria, a division of a hundred men)

century . Since then this pest has spread across the See also:

• AFRICAN

African See also:

• CONTINENT (from Lat. continere, "to hold together "; hence " connected," " continuous ")

continent and even reached See also:

• MADAGASCAR

Madagascar . The impregnated See also:

• FEMALE

female jigger burrows into the feet of men and See also:

• DOGS, ISLE OF

dogs, and becomes distended with eggs until its See also:

• ABDOMEN (a Latin word, either from abdere, to hide, or from a form adipomen, from adeps, fat)

abdomen attains the size and See also:

• APPEARANCE (from Lat. apparere, to appear)

appearance of a small See also:

• PEA (Pisum)

pea . If in extracting the insect the abdomen be ruptured, serious trouble may ensue from the resulting inflammation . At least four species of fleas (including Pulex irritans) which infest the See also:

• COMMON

common See also:

• RAT (a word common to Teut. and Rom. languages; probably first adopted in Teut.; the ultimate origin is not known; Skeat suggests the root rad-, to scratch; cf. Ger. Ratte, Dan. rotte, Fr. rat, &c.)

rat are known to bite man, and are believed to be the active agents in the transmission of See also:

• PLAGUE (in Gr. Xotµos; in Lat. pestis, pestilentia)

plague from Tats to human beings . (E . E .