Flea

Found globally; lived as external parasites on mammals and birds, often residing in beds, carpets, or nests of their hosts.

Hematophagous; they feed exclusively on the blood of mammals and birds using specialized piercing-sucking mouthparts.

Flightless but capable of jumping long distances; they undergo complete metamorphosis (egg, larva, pupa, adult). They are most active when a host is present.

Risks include skin irritation, allergic dermatitis, and transmission of diseases like tapeworms, murine typhus, and bubonic plague; they have no known benefits to the ecosystem.