flea
2006-09-16 11:16:46 · 6 answers · asked by phil_maquim 2 in Education & Reference ➔ Trivia
Fleas are part of the food chain just as anything else is--as in, they eat food, and are eaten.
When people think of fleas, they usually think of the adult, hoppy, blood-sucking form. However, when fleas are young (larvae), they resemble a tiny wiggly worm, and do not live on mammal hosts. They live on the ground (in the carpet, if the adults are infesting your pet), and live off the blood-rich fecal matter that is deposited by the adults. In the wild, living on the ground as they do, the larvae are vulnerable to many types of predators--ants, spiders, carniverous beetles, etc.
After the larvae pupate and emerge as adults, they find a host to live on, where they are much safer from predators.
As for the second part of your question--fleas take such a small amount of blood when they bite, I certainly couldn't imagine a realistic scenario in which they could actually kill a human--even a baby. They could, however, drive you to throw yourself out of a window with itchiness. ;)
2006-09-16 11:24:38 · answer #1 · answered by entoaggie 2 · 2⤊ 0⤋
1
2006-09-16 18:18:34 · answer #2 · answered by hector 4 · 0⤊ 2⤋
They are parasites and other things eat them, so yes, they're part of the food chain. At the lowest point on the trophic levels they would be secondary consumers and go up from there.
It would take many, many, many, many, many fleas to kill a person. 100s of thousands or more. Of course the person would have to sit there while the fleas drained him/her alive.
2006-09-16 18:20:11 · answer #3 · answered by Shaun 4 · 1⤊ 0⤋
It would only take one flea to kill you if that flea was carrying bubonic plague.
2006-09-16 20:08:02 · answer #4 · answered by pat z 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Just one i should imagine since they where the cause of the great plague
2006-09-16 18:27:54 · answer #5 · answered by pixie007 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
fleas dont like humans they dont like our blood.
2006-09-16 18:19:13 · answer #6 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 1⤋