Flea larvae diet is principally which?

• A. dried blood from the female flea
• B. host blood directly
• C. plant matter
• D. skin debris

Answer: (A)

The main concept here is what flea larvae actually eat. Flea larvae don’t drink host blood or munch on plants. Instead, they subsist on organic debris in the environment, especially flea dirt—the dried blood excreted by adult fleas after feeding on the host. That dried blood provides the nutrients larvae need to molt and grow. So, among the options, dried blood from the female flea best describes their primary food source, since it represents the dried blood contained in the flea dirt that larvae consume. Skin debris and other materials can be present, but they’re not the larvae’s main energy source, and the larvae don’t feed on host blood directly.