Fleas and your pet
Egg stage:
On an untreated pet, a female flea can lay as many as 40 eggs per day and 2,000 eggs in her lifetime. Flea eggs typically hatch within 1-10 days.
Larval stage:
After hatching, the larvae find a dark place in your home and feed on debris and flea feces. They grow, molt twice and spin cocoons where they grow into pupae. The larval stage usually lasts 5-10 days.
Pupal stage:
Pupae spend 8-9 days in their cocoon growing to adulthood, then wait for signals that it is time to emerge. They can wait in their cocoon for up to 174 days. Many pupae are present in the household before adults are seen.
Adult stage:
Fleas detect a host from inside their cocoons at which point they leave the cocoon, hop onto a host, find a mate and start the cycle again. Adult fleas can live on an untreated pet for more than 3 months.
The adult fleas you see on your pet represent approximately 5% of the total flea population, and are only the tip of the infestation iceberg.
Point to each stage on the diagram to learn more.
*Dryden MW, Houlton D. Understanding Flea Biology and Control. Vet Practices STAFF. 1990;7-9.