The Souls of Fleas

The Ghost of a Flea, 1819, William Blake

Img 1 This image is in the public domain, as the copyright term is the author’s life plus 100 years or less.

Summary

The irritating, blood-thirsty behavior of fleas has led certain cultures to describe them as having human souls. And, in the past, due to their resilience, insects have been described as having immortal souls.

Details

Fleas Contain the Souls of Dead White Men

In Buxton with Hopkins book from 1927, Researches in Polynesia and Melanesia, there is an amusing anecdote about fleas. The placid Aitakati natives of Polynesia noted that fleas had restless and irritating habits. They saw connotations between the invasive inclination of fleas and colonial oppression. Thus, they concluded that fleas contained the souls of deceased white men.

The Ghost of a Flea

The Aitakati weren’t the only ones to make correlations between the blood-sucking insects and insatiable humans. The Ghost of a Flea Img 1 was painted by William Blake in 1819. The painting depicts an anthropomorphized flea sticking out its tongue to consume a bowl of blood it’s holding. Blake often said he was visited by invisible otherworldly spirits as he drew them. The Flea told him that “fleas were inhabited by the souls of such men as were by nature blood thirsty to excess.” In his obituary, it was stated that, “The flea communicated to Mr. Blake what passed, as related to himself, at the Creation. ‘It was first intended,’ said he (the flea) ‘to make me as big as a bullock; but then when it was considered from my construction, so armed—and so powerful withal, that in proportion to my bulk, (mischievous as I now am) that I should have been a too mighty destroyer; it was determined to make me no bigger than I am.”

The Head of the Ghost of a Flea, 1819, William Blake

Img 2 This image is in the public domain, as the copyright term is the author’s life plus 100 years or less.

The Immortal Soul of Insects

Insects have been know to be difficult to kill (drown) since antiquity. For example, in around 200 A.D., Claudius Aelianus reported that flies couldn’t be easily drowned. The resiliency of insects has led some to believe they possess immortal souls. Lucian of Samosata, who lived between 120 A.D. and 192 A.D., argued, when flies died, it seemed like their soul could depart and then later return to their corporeal body to revive it. To him, this suggested the immortality of its soul, and subsequently the immortality of human souls.

“The most remarkable point about its natural history is that which I am now to mention. It is the one fact that Plato seems to me to have overlooked in his discourse of the soul and its immortality. If a little ashes be sprinkled on a dead fly, it gets up, experiences a second birth, and starts life afresh, which is recognized as a convincing proof that its soul is immortal, inasmuch as after it has departed it returns, recognizes and reanimates the body, and enables it to fly; so is confirmed the tale about Hermotimus of Clazomenae — how his soul frequently left him and went off on its own account, and afterwards returning occupied the body again and restored the man to life.”

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Fleas in Medieval Castles: Garderobes

Summary

Parasites were ubiquitous within castles, with fleas being among the most common. In an attempt to ward of fleas, clothing was stored in garderobes. A garderobe was small room, like a closet, which was positioned over a castle’s wall. These rooms were early bathrooms, where nobility defecated into a hole leading outside the castle wall. Ammonia fumes from the human waste accumulated in the garderobe. The fumes were thought to ward of fleas and other pests, thus protecting expensive clothing.

Details

Parasites in Castles

Parasites were ever-present in medieval castles. They infested all inhabitants, from maids to masters. In the Middle Ages, there was no connection between parasites and disease. Thus, biting pests were seen as nuisances, rather than a health threat.

Fleas, bedbugs and lice were some of the most common pests. Castle floors were covered with rushes, and were infrequently swept. This created ideal flea breeding grounds. In warm months, flies buzzed around kitchens, rush-covered floors, and cesspits. Internal parasites, such as whipworms and roundworms, were also present in castle residents.

Garderobes

Stone castles had small, closet-like rooms called garderobes. They served two functions: (1) as a toilet, (2) as storage for clothes of the nobility.

Early Bathrooms

Garderobes were some of the world’s earliest toilets. The small rooms contained a platform with a stone or wooden seat, which was suspended over a round hole in the floor. The hole led to a chute which dumped the human waste outside of the castle walls.

Castle builders positioned garderobes so they jutted out over castle walls. When possible, they were built over moats, lakes or streams, so the excrement could be disposed of easily. However, bodies of water weren’t always nearby. Oftentimes, the waste simply slid down the castle wall, to the base of the castle or into a deep sewage pit. For this reason, garderobes in the Tower of London were all built on the side away from the city, so the feces couldn’t be seen dribbling down the walls.

Castle defense was a top concern. Some had garderobes on each level, one above another, and were connected to a drain. To prevent blockage, the drains had to be fairly large. However, made the drains entry routes for enemies. To stop attackers from climbing up the garderobe, chutes were often covered all the way to ground with a metal grid. Some garderobes were designed without chutes. They simply dumped waste through a slit high on the castle wall.

Early garderobe designs had the hole leading straight down. Waste fell to the foot of the wall, or into a moat, river or lake below the castle. Later, more sophisticated methods were used, with pipes connecting garderobes to cesspits or bodies of water.

Generally, garderobes were features of elite individual residences. Most had stone or wooden seats, but some nicer ones were padded. For example, John the Fearless’ garderobe had a padded seat and ventilation. Life in castles was luxurious compared to the villages. Still, hygiene was appalling by today’s standards. Garderobes were likely cold and uncomfortable, and prone to unpleasant smells, especially in the summer. Likewise, castle walls would’ve been covered with decaying feces, leading to an awful stench.

The first castle garderobes appeared in the 11th century. They became obsolete with the introduction of indoor plumbing. Many can still be seen today in standing medieval castles and fortifications.

Wardrobes

The second function of garderobes was to store clothing. In numerous languages, “garderobe” translates to either “wardrobe”, “cloakroom” or “checkroom”. Today, to be polite, some people may still ask the way to the cloakroom instead of the toilet.

Within the garderobe, clothing was hung near the ammonia-soaked shaft of the toilet. At the time, it was believed that ammonia fumes arising from the human waste would ward off any fleas, moths or other pests. Thus, their coats, cloaks and other expensive garments would be protected. Garderobes were literally thought to “guard robes”.

Related Interesting Facts

Gong Farmers

While garderobes were convenient, they still required upkeep. If the waste fell into a cesspit, the cesspit would have to be periodically cleaned. The task of mucking out the waste was done by gong farmers. They were the early drain cleaners, who cleared out cesspits, latrines and privies. “Gong” comes from the Old Engish “gang” which means “going”. Gong farmers could earn in 11 nights’ work what a skilled laborer would take six months to earn. Many supplemented their income by selling human waste to farmers for fertilizer.

Chamber Pots

For centuries, chamber pots were used to carry waste away from living areas. There used in villages and also in castles, where they’d be emptied over the walls. They were likely used in conjunction with garderobes. When a person emptied their chamber pot, they would open a window and yell “gardez l’eau”, which translate to, “watch out for the water”. “Gardez l’eau” became “loo”. Thus, the word “loo” originates from medieval times.

Medieval Toilet Paper

For toilet paper, people used clumps of straw or hay. Some nobles likely used scraps of linen or cotton cloth. A plant called “common mullein” was popular for its soft leaves.

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10 Little-Known Facts About Fleas

Human fleas can jump a distance of 33 cm. That’s 200 times their body length. And amazingly, female cat fleas can drink 15 times their weight in blood a day.

The above tidbits are interesting, but they are commonly cited and can be found everywhere. In this article, I will cover 10 lesser-known facts about fleas. Hopefully you haven’t heard some of these before, and will come to further appreciate how fascinating fleas are!

#1 Some Adult Fleas Poop in the Mouths of Larvae

Larvae of the northern rat flea, Nosopsyllus fasciatus, will actively seek out adults and grab them with their mandibles. The seized adult then responds by defecating until the larva releases its hold and goes to consume the feces. Alright, the adults don’t actually poop directly in the larvae’s mouths. That was a bit of a sensationalist title. I had to start strong.

The cat flea, Ctenocephalides felis, is the most common species found on dogs and cats. Cat flea larvae will also feed on fecal blood from adults. However, the larvae graze for this feces in their environment. Sadly, cat flea larvae don’t share the same special bond with adults that rat fleas do.

#2 Fleas Inhabit Every Continent on Earth

Fleas have a cosmopolitan geographic distribution. They can be found on all the world’s continents and on most oceanic islands. Even Antarctica has a species of flea, Glaciopsyllus antarcticus, which parasitizes seabirds. The sub-antarctic islands also have fleas that feed on a variety of seabird species. There’s no where to run to from fleas!

#3 Fleas can Parasitize Ticks

One species of flea, Coptopsylla lamellifer, has been observed to accidentally use ticks as hosts, feeding on their haemolyph (circulatory system fluid). This rare type of feeding has been termed “heterovampirism”. “Homovampirism” would be the term used if fleas fed on other blood-engorged fleas of the same species (fleas don’t, but some ticks do)..

Fleas almost exclusively parasitize mammals and birds. The majority of flea species are parasites of mammals, with only around 3% to 5% of species considered specific bird parasites. Sometimes flea may accidentally feed on reptiles as well.

#4 The Origin of Fleas

It is believed that fleas originated from the Lower Jurassic period. Later, in the Eocene period, fleas began to rapidly evolve when the diversification of mammals exploded. Flea fossils are very rare, but those discovered in amber date back to the Upper Eocene and Miocene periods.

#5 Adult Fleas Walk More than they Jump

Fleas are well-known for their incredible jumping abilities, however, their main type of locomotion is walking. This is especially true for cat fleas, which become permanent residents of their host.

Adult fleas have a laterally-compressed body, a narrow head, and flexible joints of the thorax and abdomen. These physical adaptations allow fleas to easily traverse through a host’s pelage by dividing the hair during forward movement. The front of some fleas is covered with a large number of pores. These pores release an oily substance onto the surface of the flea to help facilitate movement through the host’s hair.

#6 Animals Sanitize and Fumigate their Nests for Fleas

The whistling rat, Parotomys brantsii, has been observed to replace old bedding from its burrow with new material. This is thought to be a strategy to remove fleas (and other parasites) from the burrow. European badgers also exhibit similar behavior. They will ‘air out’ their bedding material periodically by bringing it to the surface and exposing it to sunlight.

Some species of birds are known to incorporate fresh, green herbs into their otherwise dry nest material. They seem to prefer plants with aromatic, volatile compounds. Researchers believe these plants may be used as a bactericide, insecticide or repellent. Mammals also engage in similar behavior. For example, badgers will bring plant materials with biocidal or fumigant properties into their nest.

#7 The Ancestor of Fleas

One theory regarding the origin of fleas suggests that its early ancestor was a winged boreid-like insect (snow scorpionfly). This insect was free-living and scavenged for food in snowy and mossy habitats. At some point, it began seeking food in animal burrows. Eventually it adapted to parasitism to feed directly from the animals it once scavenged from. Its body became laterally flattened and it obtained mouth-parts for piercing skin and sucking blood. Over time the insect lost its wings, but maintained some semblance of flight with its jumping ability.

#8 The Feeding Habits of Ground Squirrel Flea Larvae

Oropsylla alaskensis is a species of flea that is parasitic to ground squirrels. The adult females will only lay eggs once the host has begun hibernating. Once the larvae hatch, they will migrate to the squirrel’s oral cavity. There, the larvae pierce the rodent’s tongue and gums and feed on the blood. That doesn’t sound like a pleasant nap.

#9 The Mechanism Behind Flea Jumps

Fleas’ incredible jumping ability is derived from the power generated by muscles of the hind legs and a rubbery protein called resilin. When the resilin is stretched and then relaxed, it releases around 97% of its stored energy. The release of this energy is a purely physical process, unlike muscle contraction which relies on chemicals. As such, air temperature is of little consequence to a flea’s ability to jump.

#10 Not All Fleas are Good Jumpers

Fleas are believed to have co-evolved with their hosts. As a result, the locomotion patterns of different flea species are believed to be adapted to the ecology and habits of their preferred host. For example, fleas which live off-host within nests, fleas of flying hosts, and fleas of desert rodents are all extremely poor jumpers. This is especially true with fleas that parasitize bats, as they rarely jump at all.

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