These bite a host, then sponge up the blood. They are wingless and parasitic, with flattened bodies, the better to crawl between their host's hair. Eggs laid by the females fall off into carpeting, the pet's bedding, etc., where they hatch. The larvae live in rugs and the pet's bedding and feed on organic material there. Eventually, they pupate in silk cocoons, often in the crevice between the rug and a table leg.
Many hymenopteran species are colonial with castes.
Generally, workers sterile females, and there are very few males in a colony. Sex is determined by whether the egg was fertilized or not. Workers in many colonial species are sterile females and have stingers to defend the colony. All rights reserved.