title: Effect of larval diet on cat flea (Siphonaptera: Pulicidae) developmental times and adult emergence.
abstract: The natural diet of cat flea, Ctenocephalides felis (Bouche), larvae is primarily adult flea feces, but dried bovine blood may be substituted in the laboratory. Percentage adult emergence (79.4% on feces; 78.9% on blood) and developmental times (20.6 d on feces; 17.1 d on blood) did not significantly differ for the two diets. The drying temperature of blood determined its quality; blood dried at 120 degrees C was unsatisfactory for larval development. The dietary value of dried bovine blood was not enhanced when supplemented with brewer's yeast, rodent chow, or a combination of those constituents. Blood particle size ranging from less than 180 to greater than 500u did not affect the value of blood as a diet. Rodent chow, yeast, albumen, hemoglobin, and mixtures of these constituents were unsuitable as larval diets.
authors.affiliation: Department of Entomology and Nematology, University of Florida, Gainesville 32611.
authors.forename: B A
authors.initials: BA
authors.lastname: Moser
authors.forename: P G
authors.initials: PG
authors.lastname: Koehler
authors.forename: R S
authors.initials: RS
authors.lastname: Patterson
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D002415:Cats; D004032:Diet; D005243:Feces; D007814:Larva / Q000254:growth & development; D005423:Siphonaptera / Q000254:growth & development*