The mouthparts look especially painful in this close-up view of the business end of an adult flea. Hoffman-style oblique illumination was used to increase contrast in the lower digital image of the unstained specimen.

Fleas thrive in a warm and humid environment and, while wingless, they can jump as high as two feet. Approximately one percent of an entire flea population exists in the adult stage, making it critical to treat the entire environment when dealing with an infestation. Adult fleas are triggered to jump by a passing shadow and they can live for several months without food. Once attached to a host (dog, cat, human, etc.) they become permanent residents, although they only survive for three to four days after a blood meal. A female adult flea can lay only approximately 20 eggs per setting, but she is capable of producing up to 500 eggs in a lifetime.

Transmitted oblique illumination was obtained with a Hoffman-style substage condenser fitted with an offset aperture slit, which provides illumination from an oblique angle with respect to the optical axis of the QX3 microscope. Digital images were recorded with the QX3 interactive software operating from the Live View menu. In the case of birefringent specimens, a polarizer was added beneath the Hoffman condenser and an analyzer was placed in front of the QX3 lens cover. In some instances, a full-wave retardation plate was inserted between the specimen and the analyzer before capturing images.

BACK TO THE OBLIQUE (HOFFMAN) GALLERY

Questions or comments? Send us an email.

© 1995-2022 by Michael W. Davidson and The Florida State University. All Rights Reserved. No images, graphics, software, scripts, or applets may be reproduced or used in any manner without permission from the copyright holders. Use of this website means you agree to all of the Legal Terms and Conditions set forth by the owners.

This website is maintained by our
Graphics & Web Programming Team
in collaboration with Optical Microscopy at the
National High Magnetic Field Laboratory.

The QX3 microscope design is copyrighted © 2022 by Mattel, Inc. Intel® Play™ is a registered trademark of the Intel Corporation. These companies reserve all of their rights and privileges under copyright law. The material contained in this website is solely the opinion of the authors and is intended for eduational use only.

Last Modification Friday, Nov 13, 2015 at 01:19 PM

Access Count Since April 26, 2000: 13045

Visit the official Intel Play website:

Visit the websites of our partners in education: