Q 01/05

In the United States, most fleas found on pet dogs belong to a species named after which other animal?

A) Rat

B) Cat

C) Hen

D) Bat

Answer · why

B) Cat

Cat fleas made up every one of the 244 fleas collected from 29 dogs in one Virginia study, and the same species readily bites people too.

Q 02/05

A bite from the lone star tick can leave a person with a lasting allergy to which food?

A) Red meat

B) Shellfish

C) Peanuts

D) Soybeans

Answer · why

A) Red meat

Red meat can set off the allergy because the tick's bite makes the body react to alpha-gal, a sugar in beef, pork and lamb. Reactions often start hour...

Q 03/05

Which body parts, found on most other insects, are missing from every flea, so it must jump instead?

A) Antennae

B) Claws

C) Wings

D) Jaws

Answer · why

C) Wings

Wings were lost over time: the ancestors of fleas had them, but modern fleas rely on powerful hind legs to leap onto passing hosts.

Q 04/05

Fleas riding on rats helped spread which pandemic that killed over a third of Europe's people in the 1300s?

A) The Spanish flu

B) The Great Famine

C) The Antonine Plague

D) The Black Death

Answer · why

D) The Black Death

The Black Death reached Europe from Crimea, most likely with fleas living on the rats aboard Genoese trading ships.

Q 05/05

Which Argentine footballer is nicknamed 'La Pulga', Spanish for 'The Flea', for his small size and speed?

A) Lionel Messi

B) Diego Maradona

C) Sergio Agüero

D) Carlos Tevez

Answer · why

A) Lionel Messi

Lionel Messi needed growth hormone treatment from the age of 11, and Spanish reporters later upgraded the nickname to 'The Atomic Flea'.