Adults are usually about 2–4 mm long.
Fine-art photographic collection
Ctenocephalides canis
A tiny blood-feeder capable of launching itself roughly one hundred body lengths in a single jump.
About this species
Dog Flea
Ctenocephalides canis(Curtis, 1826)
Information reviewed15 July 2026
Ctenocephalides canis is a laterally flattened flea associated chiefly with dogs, although it can feed on several mammal hosts. Adults live in the host’s coat, while eggs, larvae and pupae develop mainly in bedding, nests and floor debris.
Taxonomy
Animalia · Arthropoda · Insecta · Siphonaptera · Pulicidae · Ctenocephalides
Accepted taxon. · checked 2026-07-15
Cosmopolitan, with records on every inhabited continentBroad range and selected reference localities — not a complete occurrence map.
Cosmopolitan, with records on every inhabited continent
Homes, kennels, animal bedding and outdoor resting places used by dogs and other mammals.
Adults seek hosts and blood meals; immature stages develop off-host in protected debris.
Adults feed on blood; larvae consume flea dirt and organic debris.
Solitary, but many individuals may occupy the same host or resting site.
What makes this species remarkable?
In controlled jump tests, dog fleas averaged about 30 cm and reached 50 cm — an extraordinary distance for an insect only a few millimetres long.
A female’s eggs are not glued to the dog: they fall from the coat and seed the animal’s bedding, where the hidden larval and pupal stages continue the infestation.
The laterally compressed body, backward-pointing bristles and powerful legs let the flea drive through fur while resisting attempts by the host to scratch or groom it away.
Sources and scientific references
More photographs
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