American Association of Colleges of Nursing (AACN) - The Clinical Nurse Leader; American Association of Colleges of Nursing's White Paper on the Education and the Role of the Clinical Nurse Leader; American Association of Managed Care Nurses; American Board of Managed Care Nursing; AONE Institute for Leadership Research & Education
1 Female fleas cannot lay eggs until after their first blood meal and begin to lay eggs within 36-48 hours after that meal. 2  The female flea can lay 2,000 eggs in her lifetime.  The female flea consumes 15 times her own body weight in blood daily.
The flea life cycle has four stages: 1  Egg: An adult female flea can lay up to 40 eggs a day. 2  Larva: When the eggs hats, larvae emerge. 3  Pupa: Once in the cocoon, the larva begins its transformation into the adult flea.  Adult flea: A fully-developed flea only emerges from its cocoon when a host is available.