Bat flea. Coloured scanning electron micrograph (SEM) of the head of an Ischnopsyllus octactenus flea, showing its mandibles, which are used to pierce

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Bat flea. Coloured scanning electron micrograph (SEM) of the head of an Ischnopsyllus octactenus flea, showing its mandibles, which are used to pierce the host's skin and suck blood. This flea lives on the common pipistrelle (Pipistrellus pipistrellus) bat. As a result of living on a nocturnal host the flea has no eyes. Magnification: x187 when printed 10 centimetres wide.

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Size: 3895px × 4520px
Photo credit: © EYE OF SCIENCE/SCIENCE PHOTO LIBRARY / Alamy / Afripics
License: Licensed
Model Released: No

Keywords: animal, animals, arthropod, arthropods, bat, biological, biology, blind, blood, close-, colored, coloured, common, detail, electron, entomological, entomology, false-colored, false-coloured, fauna, feeder, flea, head, host, insect, insects, invertebrate, invertebrates, ischnopsyllus, mandibles, micrograph, microscope, nature, nocturnal, octactenus, palp, palps, parasite, parasitic, pipistrelle, pipistrellus, scanning, sem, sensory, sucker, wildlife, zoological, zoology