The food of the flea larvae is principally which?

• A. dried blood from the female flea
• B. plant matter
• C. flea feces
• D. blood from hosts

Answer: (A)

The thing the flea larvae eat is organic debris found in the environment, especially the flea dirt—that is, the dried feces of adult fleas that contains digested blood. Larvae aren’t blood-feeders; their mouthparts and digestion are suited for solid particles and microbial matter in the debris around the hosts’ nests or sleeping areas. That’s why flea dirt, not plant matter or host blood, is their main food source. Blood from hosts is what adult fleas drink, but larvae feed on the dried blood contained in the feces of those adults. So the best answer is flea feces.