What insect order is made up of fleas?

What insect order is made up of fleas? Fleas belong to the insect order Siphonaptera.

The name combines Greek-derived elements meaning “tube” and “wingless,” reflecting the group’s piercing, sucking mouthparts and the loss of wings in modern fleas. Fleas are small, laterally flattened parasites whose adults feed on the blood of mammals and birds.

Their powerful hind legs allow remarkable jumps, while backward-facing bristles and claws help them move through fur or feathers without being dislodged. Fleas undergo complete metamorphosis: eggs hatch into legless larvae, which later form pupae before emerging as adults.

Fleas were once classified among various wingless insects, but modern evidence links them evolutionarily to scorpionflies and their relatives. Fossil flea-like insects from the Jurassic and Cretaceous show that the lineage has a long history of specialization for parasitism.