Pilot studies showed that groups of 100 cat flea larvae or more before the wandering stage would form tight clusters in a petri dish. These clusters would form in a few minutes and then exhibit a taxis response, en masse, in the direction of a human stimulus. This response only occurred when the larvae were placed at or below the height of a human stimulus. The taxis response would progress in 10-20 minutes and would remain for hours unless disturbed. Repeating the experiments with from one to ten larvae revealed that the taxis response was assisted by group dynamics but did not require it. Statistical analysis showed that the degree of orientation was accurate to within 40 degrees which was the experiment's maximum resolution. The taxis response is hypothesized to be a generalized response to the host animal.
Species 1: Siphonaptera Pulicidae Ctenocephalides felis (cat flea)
Keywords: behavior, orientation
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