What is Flea?
{{about|the insect|the musician in the band [[Red Hot Chili Peppers]]|Flea (musician)}} {{Automatic taxobox | name = Fleas | fossil_range = {{Fossil range|Early Cretaceous|Recent}} | image = Flea Scanning Electron Micrograph False Color.jpg | image_caption = [[False colour]] [[Scanning electron microscope|scanning electron micrograph]] of a flea. [[Centers for Disease Control and Prevention|CDC]] image. | display_parents = 3 | taxon = Siphonaptera | authority = [[Pierre André Latreille|Latreille]], 1825 }} The '''flea''' (''Siphonaptera'') is an [[insect]] which lives on many [[animal]]s and sometimes [[human]]s. Fleas are [[ectoparasite]]s and drink the [[blood]] of the animal they bite. Fleas live outdoors in sand or tall [[grass]], and jump to any passing animal and lay [[Egg (biology)|eggs]]. Flea bites are usually red bumps and they itch. There are many species of flea such as dog fleas, cat fleas, human fleas, northern rat fleas, and the oriental rat flea. During the Middle Ages, the oriental rat flea spread a bacteria that caused the [[bubonic plague]], also known as the Black Death or Black Plague. This was a huge [[epidemic]] much more severe than today's [[Avian flu|bird flu]]. The oriental rat flea was infected by the bacteria ''[[Yersinia pestis]]''. [[Category:Insects]] {{-}} {{biology-stub}}