"The Oriental Rat Flea" (Xenopsylla cheopis)

This extremely important cosmopolitan flea (particularly from 35 N to 35 S) is the vector of bubonic plague from rat to man. Although it is not really a household pest, it has been reported biting people in buildings. Like its rat hosts, it is found most commonly in seaport towns and has been transported worldwide in commerce. According to Trembley and Bishopp (1940), the most common hosts are rats, particularly the Norway rat, Rattus norvegicus; cotton rat, Sigmodon h. hispidus; roof rat, R. rattus rattus, and the house mouse, Mus musculus, cottontail rabbits and the California ground squirrel. This flea readily bites and feeds on humans. Both the oral and pronotal combs are absent and the ocular bristle is in front and just above the middle of the eye.