[Evaluation of the female age makeup of a natural population of Xenopsylla conformis fleas by a luminescence microscopy method (Aphaniptera)].

The age structure of the natural population of X. conformis was studied by means of luminiscent microscopy. The method has made possible a detail differentiation of females into age groups and can be used in field conditions. All age categories constituting a scale developed on a laboratory culture of fleas can be found among individuals caught on animals and in their nests. The autumn population consists of females that fed and did not reproduce and of individuals that interrupted their reproduction. The spring population is composed by reproducing females at different stages of reproduction. It has been established that in October begins the autumn--winter interwal in the reproduction of X. conformis and in the first half of April their spring activation that is in good agreement with published data.