Factors influencing the life cycle of ctenocephalides spp.

English: The behaviour and survival of C. felis are highly dependent on biotic and abiotic factors in the environment and therefore developmental and nutritional requirements demand that eggs must be laid in a environment which provides the suitable microhabitat for C. felis development. Since eggs and larval stages of the cat flea cannot survive major fluctuations in temperature and humidity, sites for development are usually limited. It was found that eggs desiccated at low relative humidities and hatched faster at higher temperatures. The percentage adult emergence also depended on the type of rearing medium on which the larvae fed. The duration of the larval stage increased with a decrease in temperature and eggs exposed to high relative humidity resulted in larger larvae. However, Ci felis populations survive because of a large reproductive capacity of the female and the ability of the pupal stage to survive environmental fluctuations. The pupa is the immature stage that is most resistant to desiccation and it is during this stage that C. felis is able to prolong its life cycle in order to survive unfavourable conditions. The fully developed adult flea can remain quiescent within the cocoon, presumably awaiting proper stimuli for emergence. Optimal conditions for C. felis development were found to be 25±2°C and 75±2% relative humidity. In spite of the many similarities between C. felis and C. canis, a comparative study showed conspicuous differences in the micro-morphology of these two species. Although only small differences were found in the biology of C. felis and C. canis, the host specificity and geographical distribution of the two species varied greatly. C. felis is the most common flea species to attack domestic pets, C. canis is more restricted in distribution. Apart from its association with various diseases and flea allergy dermatitis (FAD), C. felis can also serve as the intermediate host for the dog tapeworm, D. caninum. C. felis become infected with the parasite during any period of the larval stage when larvae ingest the eggs of D. caninum. Although it was found that D. caninum were only slightly harmful to its intermediate host under optimal conditions for C. felis development, the negative effect on the intermediate host increased with an increase in the intensity of infection.