• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to footer
Zippy Facts Logo

Zippy Facts

Interesting Random Facts

  • Animals
  • Culture
  • Firsts
  • Food
  • Geography
  • Health
  • History
  • Inventions
  • Language
  • Mythology
  • Odds
  • People
  • Religion
  • Science
  • Space
  • Universe
  • World
You are here: Home / Animals / How High Can a Flea Jump?

How High Can a Flea Jump?

July 14, 2020 by Karen Hill

Fleas are the best jumpers in the insect world. They can jump eight to ten inches high, many times their own height.

flea

The tiny flea is a parasitic insect, one that lives on other animals. It is best known for living on dogs and cats, but fleas also live on other animals, such as rats, mice, birds, small rodents, and sometimes even on people. They live by sucking the blood of their host.

The flea uses its jumping ability to survive. It has strong, spiny, muscular jumping legs which it uses to get from place to place. When the adult flea emerges from its cocoon, it begins to look for a host, for it must have blood to live.

Some fleas jump toward objects they see moving, but it is also thought that fleas can sense when an animal is near from its smell. Some fleas can only live on certain types of animals. But most fleas pass from animal to animal.

High speed photographs of fleas jumping show that they can do somersaults in the air and even land on their hosts upside down!

Related Facts

  • Where do Germs, Bacteria, and Viruses come from and How do they make us sick?
  • Who Discovered Blood Plasma and How does separating red blood cells and plasma extended the shelf life?
  • Where does the term “Flea Bitten” come from and What does flea-bitten mean?
  • 15 Inventions You Wish You Invented
  • Who Discovered Blood Types and How Humans have different types of blood that are not all compatible?
  • Top 25 Inventions That Changed the World

Filed Under: Animals

About Karen Hill

Karen Hill is a freelance writer, editor, and columnist. Born in New York, her work has appeared in the Examiner, Yahoo News, Buzzfeed, among others.

Previous Post: « Why Do Lemmings Go on a Death March?
Next Post: How Do Crickets Chirp? »

Footer

Follow

  • Facebook
  • Flickr
  • GitHub
  • Google+
  • Instagram
  • LinkedIn
  • Medium
  • Pinterest
  • StumbleUpon
  • Tumblr
  • Twitter
  • YouTube

Categories

Accomplishments Animals Culture Firsts Food Geography Health History Inventions Language Mythology Odds People Religion Science Space Universe World Your Body

About

Zippy Facts empowers the world by serving educational content that is accessible to everyone.

A tribute to growing up, zippyfacts.com showcases interesting and unusual facts about the world.

Our mission is to use technology to facilitate knowledge transfer and sharing.

Copyright © 2020 Zippy Facts

  • About Us
  • Contact
  • Privacy Policy