The Iberian Peninsula has almost 8,000 km of coastline. This makes incidents with some marine species the order of the day. It is especially in the summer when we cool off in the sea on one of our beaches, it being inevitable not to look where we are stepping and avoid having a bad time.
Fleas known as siphonaptera are external parasites that survive by feeding on the blood of mammals, which is why they bite. They can make great jumps and can easily reach new hosts and transmit various diseases. But when we refer to beach fleas we are talking about a crustacean of the Talitridae family, something totally different and harmless.
Beach fleas are also known as sand or sea fleas. They are small amphipod crustaceans that live in the sand on beaches. It owes its name “flea” for its ability to make great jumps when it thinks it is in danger. The chances of seeing these fleas increase at dawn and dusk as they feed at night.
As the heat increases during sunrise, the fleas begin their activity among the algae and migrate to the sand at the last tide mark. Its nocturnal activity ceases, locating itself between the limits of low tide to feed on algae and decomposing organic waste. This curious behavior has two purposes: to prevent the burial of the flea during the next tide and to maintain the humidity that allows it to carry out its vital functions; since all crustaceans need humidity.
Beach. Image: Pixabay
It is very common to talk about beach flea bites, but in reality they are not fleas, nor do they bite. Many of the cases of bites at the seashore are caused by other small insects that are also present in the sand and algae. These are also called “fleas” because they often jump on the sand and bite.
The sea flea is an active and very small animal. Its size can vary from 3.5 mm to 2.5 cm in some species. They all live in moist soil or sand and despite their small size, they can jump over 20 cm. The females are characterized by ingesting their own young to feed on their own body, but they are harmless to any other animal.
In addition to forming an important part of the diet of many fish and seabirds, talitrids are a family of approximately 300 species: some of them freshwater and, although they need humidity to survive, they are also part of the talitrid family that have been adapted to living in dry areas.
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