The Life Cycle of the Flea

Eggs

• All fleas begin life as an egg. According to the University of Florida, a female flea can lay up to 500 eggs in a six-month lifetime but only lays up to 18 in a clutch.

Larvae

• One to 12 days after being lain, an egg hatches into tiny a worm-like larva that eats whatever organic material it can find.

Moulting

• Many larvae of flea species go through three molts. Each time they emerge from their old bodies into slightly bigger larvae.

Pupae

• When the larva is about 2 weeks old, it spins a cocoon to transform into a pupa, then emerges as an adult. This stage can last for months, depending on the weather.

Adult

• The adult only breeds and feeds on the host but lives in furniture, bedding, and in the yards, paddocks and stalls of their hosts. The adults are easiest to kill.