The Feeding Process of a Tungid Flea, Tunga Monositus (Siphonaptera: Tungidae), and its Relationship to the Host Inflammatory and Repair Response1

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Abstract
The feeding behavior of the adult female Tunga monositus Barnes & Radovsky, 1969, a parasite of cricetid rodents of the genus Peromyscus, is described. The adult female lies embedded in the skin of the ear pinna for 2 or 3 months. In the laboratory, development of the fleas in a strain of white mice, Mus musculus, was grossly comparable to that in Peromyscus, and all observations reported herein were carried out on M. musculus. During the first 24 h of attachment to the skin, T. monositus feeds principally on fluid exudate. Thereafter, there is an increasing cellular exudate composed mostly of neutrophils. By the 3rd day the flea is completely embedded in the skin. Between the 4th day, when the first indications of a repair response is Seen, and the 10th day, many neutrophils invade the reactive area and these are ingested by the flea. From the 10th to the 14th day, exuberant granulation tissue is a feature of the host response and the flea feeds on young fibroblasts, collagen, and macrophages; neutrophils are rare in the stomach contents. On the 14th day, blood-feeding commences, the tip of the laciniae being inserted into the lumen of a blood vessel in an area of vascularization near the flea's head. This mode of feeding continues until the 42nd day, at which time the flea begins to feed from a blood pool. Sloughing of the parasite and healing of the flea lesion was noted as early as the 56th day, but it may be delayed for many weeks and may not start until the end of the 3rd month. Mating does not appear to affect the pattern of feeding. There is an indication that the early phase of feeding (up to the 14th day) is primarily directed towards the neosomatic process. After the 14th day, when the flea begins to feed on whole blood, mating takes place and oogenesis is initiated. Oogenesis, however, does not require mating. The female T. monositus establishes a very close relationship with its host and clearly depends on the inflammatory and repair response of the mouse for survival and reproduction.

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