Equipped to survive even freezing temperatures in their pupal stage, the flea's life cycle is difficult to break. Under ideal circumstances, fleas live up to a year, completing the reproductive cycle that produces a new generation every 21 to 40 days. This means that one flea can produce nine to 17 generations by herself in a year-long life, producing up to 2,000 offspring.
Factors Affecting the Life Cycle
Unless the flea lives in a warm, humid environment where blood meals are readily available, she will not produce a maximum amount of generations in a year. A flea must have a blood meal before reproducing and will usually begin laying eggs within 24 hours of consuming one. Low humidity and temperatures below 70 degrees slow the flea's life cycle.
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Indulging her passion for vacation vagary through the written word on a full-time basis since 2010, travel funster Jodi Thornton-O'Connell guides readers to the unexpected, quirky, and awe-inspiring.
