H. Lyon.
Notes on the Cat Flea (Ctenocephalus felis Bouché).
Psyche 22(4):124-132, 1915.

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184 Psyche [August
NOTES ON THE CAT FLEA (CTENOCEPHALUS FELIS BOUCHE) .l
The following observations were made in connection with some attempts during the past winter to devise a satisfactory method for the propagation of fleas to be used for experimental purposes. It had been intended to make use of the reared insects for experi- ments concerning their possible association with anterior polio- myelitis (infantile paralysis), but as it was not possible to secure proper facilities for this work at that time, it has seemed advisable to publish earlier some of the observations. These relate primarily to the seasonal abundance of the cat flea, since it is difficult to obtain from existing literature any ade- quate data upon the relative abundance of fleas during the various months of the year, in regions where there is a considerable annual range of temperatures. The association between bubonic plague and various fleas, particularly the tropical rat flea (Xenopsylla cheopis) has long been known as well as the role of Ceratophyllus fasciatus in transmitting plague in the more temperate regions of the northern hemisphere. However, most of the work on plague and fleas has been done in the tropics or subtropics and the careful data collected in such climates cannot be applied to the conditions which exist in our own region. Observations on the seasonal prev- alance of Ceratophyllus fasciatus have been made notably in Eng- land by Nuttall and also in California by Mitzrnain, but none seemed sufficient for the present purpose. It was therefore deter- mined to make a uniform series of counts of the number of fleas occurring on cats in the city of Boston from week to week during as long a period as possible. With the kind permission of Mr. Huntington Smith of the Animal Rescue League, it was possible to examine the cats collected by the officers of the league and these examinations have formed the basis for the accompanying tabulations. The data on seasonal distribution begin with Decem- ber 1914 and have continued to the present date of writing. 1 Contributions from the Entomological Laboratory of the Bussey Institution, Haward Uni- versity, No. 96.
Pn&f 22:124-132 11915). http:ffpsyche.cnlclub.ore/22/22-124 html



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19151 Lyon-Notes on the Cat Flea 125
Soon after the animals had been killed, their fur was carefully gone over with a fine-toothed comb and the fleas present on each were counted. As the time was limited, five cats were chosen as a unit. These were selected at random and the lot contained both homeless and strayed pet cats. The extent of infestation varied greatly, but contrary to expectations seemed to be as great in the pets as in the homeless ones. No doubt, more fleas could have been obtained from individual cats if it had been possible to ex- amine each animal exhaustively, but as all were gone over with the same thoroughness, the conclusions as to the comparative abundance can be regarded as trustworthy. The data obtained have been summarized in the following table: .........................
Number of animals examined. 139
.........................
Number of animals with fleas.
114
Number of animals without fleas. ...................... 25
................................
Total number of fleas. 590
..............................
Greatest number per cat. 30
..............................
Smallest number per cat. 1
Average number per cat. ............................. .4.24 Monthly Average per Cat.
............................................. December 3.75
January .............................................. 3.85 ............................................. February 2.3 March ................................................ 1.08 April ................................................. 2.52 ................................................. May 3.1
June ................................................. 3.98 July .................................................. 10.05 A number of very interesting facts are brought out in the table, and some are rather different from what had been anticipated. It is, of course, common experience that fleas are less abundant in the winter than in the summer, but so great a variation had not been expected, since the adult insects would not seem to be greatly affected by temperature, living as external parasites of a warm blooded animal. The larvae are, of course, subjected to a much greater range of temperature, as they live in the nest of the animals which they infest or in accumulations of dust and animal refuse nearby. This probably accounts for the late appearance of considerable numbers of fleas in the spring, while their persistence well into the winter may be due to the continued warm environ-



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126 Psyche [August
ment of the adults on the body of their host after the onset of cold weather.
Some years ago Conn of the Connecticut State Board of Health (Rept. State Bd. Health, Conn., 1910-1 1 (1912) suggested a pos- sible etiological connection between fleas and anterior poliomyeli- tis, but others have not been able to harmonize the persistence of fleas through the winter with the very slight incidence of polio- myelitis during this part of the year. Thus, in considering any possible insect carriers of this disease, Brues and Sheppard (Joum. Table 1.
Seasonal Incidence of Anterior Poliomyelitis in Massachusetts, New York and Ohio.
JAN. FEB. MAR. APR. MAY JUN. JUL. AUG. SEP. OCT. NOV. DEC. 12 0
:-;
;
:
'
;
!




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19151 Lyon-Notes on the Cat Flea 127
Table 2. Seasonal Abundance of the Cat Flea (Ctenocephalus felis). Econ., Ent., Vol. 5, p. 314 (1912) were led to disregard fleas for this reason. The present data show, however, that in a climate like that of New England the seasonal prevalence of these insects agrees, in some respects at least, quite well with the seasonal inci- dence of the disease.
The relationship which exists is shown graph- ically in the following tables (Tables I and 11), in which are observed the abundance of the cat flea and the reported incidence of poliomyelitis. The data concerning the disease have been collected from a number of sources and relate to several states so as .to minimize, as far as possible, any irregularities which might arise from the small numbers of cases reported during the winter months.
In the reports of the Massachusetts State Board of Health on Infantile Paralysis for the years 1907-1912, we find the following



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128 Psyche [August
information bearing directly on the question. As the majority of
the domesticated animals may harbor fleas of various species, we find that in 1909-10 out of 328 families where the disease was re- ported, there were no animals present in 131 cases, that there were animals present in 197 cases and that 125 animals had sickness or death in 70 of the families. In this instance there were animals present in 60 per cent. of the families. Again in a later report we find that "out of 186 families in which acute epidemic poliomyelitis occurred, 34 homes had illness, paralysis or death in 82 animals. One hundred and ten of the families above mentioned had animals; therefore, about thirty per cent. of 110 families with animals, had paralysis or death in their animals."
All animals in this case ex-
cept two may bear fleas. Again, out of 33 cases, all of which had animals present, there were 28 cats and dogs in the home. It was also reported that out of 328 families where vermin, insects, rodents, etc., were present, there were 224 with rodents, which are common hosts of fleas.
The adult fleas after each combing were brought to the labora- tory and various trials were made to keep them alive but under no condition, moist or dry, did they live after five days. As this would not do for obtaining material for experimental purposes two cats infested with fleas were secured and these were kept in the insectary until the last of May when they were placed out of doors. Their bed consisted of several layers of newspapers which were shaken every few days into a dish, and thus from fifty to one hundred eggs were obtained each time. The following method proved most successful in raising fleas from the eggs. The eggs with the debris, etc., from the beds, were put in Petri dishes and these placed on the stage in small moistening jars, one-third full of water (Plate X). The cover was put on the jar and the whole apparatus placed out of the direct light in the laboratory at ordinary room temperature. On excep- tionally warm days the jar was partly opened to prevent the con- densation of moisture in the jar from drowning the larvae. A little floor sweepings from a vacuum cleaner and sometimes a little dried blood were added to the culture. The larvae seemed to prefer the dust and their own molt skins to the dried blood. By this method



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19151 Lyon-Notes on the Cat Flea 129
we were able to raise a generation, from egg to imago, in thirteen days as the minimum to thirty-three days as the maximum, de- pending upon the temperature. Moisture is essential for good results.
TABLE SHOWING TIME OF DEVELOPMENT.
- - --
In order that we might easily collect the adults on emerging, the following device was used.
After the larvae had pupated (in
pupating, the larvae may spin a thin cocoon or may pupate with- EVS- 1 . pupa.
9-8 days
out doing so, in either case the pupa stage is the same), the whole culture was suspended in a glass funnel, deep enough down to leave a clear space around the sides and not touching a glass plate Complete generation.
cover which was placed over the top of the funnel. The tube of
the funnel was inserted in a test tube and the entire apparatus attached to a ring stand. The fleas on emerging from the pupa jumped about and finally fell into the funnel and slid into the test tube below, where they could be easily collected and handled (Plate XI .
7-18 days
The statements and figures of the earlier authors, Laboulbhe, Kunckel and Taschenberg, are very indefinite but form the basis of most of the later work. In the first larval stage, the head is considerably longer than the other segments but in the last, third stage, it is of the same size. The egg breaker is lost after the first molt but the mouthparts remain the same. The broad convex upper lip or labrum of the mouth of the cat flea is slightly enmrginated in the middle with two small setae at the center of either lobe (Fig. 1 C.) There are also two small hairs on either side. The labrum is used extensively in locomotion and in connection with the rest of the head to lift and turn over par- tides of food and in burrowing. In locomotion the two small setae or bristles are fastened into the surface upon which the lava may be, and act as a brace while the "caudal stylets " at the extremity 2-14 days 13-33 days




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1 30 Psyche [August
of the body are being placed in preparation for exerting the power to force the body forward. The labrum is then related and the larva darts forward in a rapid wriggling motion. On the under Fig. 1.
Ctenawphatua f&, head of larva: A, ventral view; B, lateral view; C, dorsal view; ant., antenna; Sb., labium; Ihr., labrum; iws., maxitia; m. pi., max- illary palpus.
side of the labrum is a curved row of bristles which partially line the upper surface of the mouth and when closed meet the bunches of bristles on the ends of the maxillse, thug holding the food in place in front of the mandibles.
The biting mandibles (Fig. 2 A), which are situated well inside the mouth, are strongly chitinized, broad and triangular and seem to be very powerful for such a larva, appearing more like those of Coleoptera than Diptera. The outer smdI end tapers gradually back and ends in a broad base with a single large lobe. The teeth appear, when the
mandibles are in
normal position,
to be situated,
a not on the inside
edge but some-
Kg. 2. Ctotowp?tdua, mouthparts of larva. A, mandibles ; B, maxilla from inner side; C, maxilla from outer side; what back and
D, labium, on opposite sides
of eachmandibk.
Thus, when the two mandibles are closed, they overlap each other. The teeth, six in number, are blunt and not sharp, as K~nckel states, nor do the mandibles end in a sharp point. The



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19151 Lyon-Notes on the Cat Flea 131
lobe at the base of the mandibles serves for the attachment of muscles and as a pivot by which they are moved. Kunckel describes the maxillae (Fig. 2 B and C) as being sec- tors of a circular saw with the teeth on the greater part of their outline; Taschenberg, as being sickle-shaped on the outer edge, circular in shape on the inner edge which is provided with numerous fine teeth. The two maxillae are provided on their inner cutting surfaces with five sharp-like saw teeth which point upwards. On the ends of the maxillae are clumps of fine bristles or "brushes." Thesework against the curved line of hairs on the roof of the mouth. The bristles on the outer surface of the maxillae interlock when in normal position. In the basal portion of the maxillae, is a part, more heavily chitinized than the rest, which tapers up into a point on either side. Perhaps this is the sickle-shaped affair of Taschen- berg. This is evidently a brace for the maxillae, providing a suit- able support for the attachment of muscles at the base and for the support of the palpi, which are two-jointed. The basal joint is short, broad and higher at one end than at the other. The second joint is short and stout, enlarging at its tip an oblique, flat end, bearing five small papilliform processes of unequal length which radiate somewhat.
The labium is situated well under the head (Fig 2 D) . Laboul- bhe says that it is boat-shaped and divided in front, with two palpiform lobes. Kunckel says that it is tongue-shaped with two very fine points making it bifid, ha*ving at its base two humps provided with two long and two short bristles. The labium is very small, narrow, slightly swelling near the end, with a blunt point which is turned upwards. Its bifid appearance is due to the pres- ence of the labial palpi which are situated just back of the tip on the slightly enlarged portion and not at the base of the labium. The palpi consist of a short thick basal joint with four stout bristles, two of which are short and appear almost together, while the other two are longer and spreading. Like the terminal bristles of the an- tennse, they do not taper. The base of the labium appears to end in the suture which extends medially the full length of the under side of the head.
In conclusion I wish to thank Professor C. T. Brues for his help in preparing the introduction and for the kindly interest which he has shown during the entire work.




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