Doodling One Flea A Day

If you like fleas, you'll probably like this blog where I draw a flea a day. This is just a silly project to pass the time because I like fleas. Main blog is @flecks-of-stardust

[flecks-of-stardust]

if you saw my post about the flea crochet pattern a few days ago, i've just updated the pattern! the shaping of the flea has been changed to be rounder, which is more in line with in game fleas. as before, if you're interested in grabbing this pattern, check it out on my Etsy store!

[flecks-of-stardust]

for those curious, here’s a comparison photo! you would not believe the pain it took to finally get the shaping on the right…

[flecks-of-stardust]

something new has come to my Etsy store! i just finished the pattern for a crocheted flea, so if you want your own fluffy friend, head on over to my store to grab the pattern! if i can figure out shipping logistics, i’ll also make the finished plushie available for those who can’t crochet. stay tuned for more!

[afleaaday]

toasting

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mini notice of sorts, but moving forward i think i'm going to drop the daily aspect of this blog. i started it a bit over a month ago with the intent to draw little silly doodles of fleas, one every day, but i knew that as this project progressed i'd get increasingly labor intensive and intricate ideas that i simply don't have the time, motivation, and skill to do in one day. i'm still going to be posting drawings! but they probably won't be daily or on any sort of schedule anymore. this will allow me to feel less pressured to draw just Something every day and work on bigger pieces; i already have a few ideas. i'll still throw in a few simple doodles here and there though, it just won't be a guarantee anymore. obviously i could cheap out and draw the same generic flea every day and call it a 'daily' thing but i'm just not that kind of person and my ambition grows faster than my skill lmao.

relatedly, i'm going to open the submissions box again for anyone who decides they want to submit a flea to the blog. no skill level, just send something in if you feel like it, and i'll leave it on a queue to post however much i feel is appropriate. the ask box is also open with anon enabled for people who have ideas but don't want to draw themselves, though as always i'm not obligated to draw any of the ideas; i'll just use it as an idea bank.

a tl;dr for this i guess would be new year new blog policy: no more daily fleas. i'll figure out the logistics as i go, but stay tuned for some hopefully bigger and grander ideas :)

[afleaaday]

Happy New Year

happy new year!!!!!

[afleaaday]

a flea a day: life cycle

detailed notes on the life cycle and an image description are under the cut

the general life cycle laid out here goes eggs > first instar > second instar > third instar > adult with sexual differentiation > back to eggs after copulation. i opted to design a new flea for this instead of using any of the existing fleas, but i can fit all of them into this chart. big flea is also in the first instar because their development was arrested at this stage, but they could theoretically progress to the second instar if they were cared for in the right way; the memorium's conditions just didn't allow for it.

the first instar looks like the fleas we know and love, and they remain here for a good amount of time. in a sense big flea's condition isn't strange, but it is greatly exaggerated to an unnatural extent due to the memorium's experiments, but even normal fleas can grow to a decent size and still remain in the first instar if the conditions aren't right, hence why most of the fleas in game are in this stage of life. very often fleas don't start molting until they're part of a caravan, which always has a few adults there to watch over the young ones. it varies though, as always, it's just uncommon for a flea to develop without aid.

the second instar is sort of the awkward teenage phase, and they look sort of in between a baby and an adult. the head fluff is now thicker than the body fluff, and the shape of the body starts to be revealed. the legs are also longer, and are more suited for walking. they still have wings at this stage, but they're not as big as they were before relative to the rest of their body. their antennae also start poking out from their fluff at this point; length is very variable. the eyes may be visible underneath the fluff now, especially since this is often when the fleas start wanting to manage their fluff. compared to the first instar, the second is relatively transient, as molting into the third instar occurs rather quickly.

the third instar is when fleas start looking basically like adults, but their body proportions are still a bit childlike. kratt is actually in this stage, but he's probably close to his final molt; this is why his shell is brown as opposed to blue like all the other adults. the mouth is now buried in fluff, while the eyes are fully visible, as now the fur is akin to its adult thickness. the shell has no fur, as it's now too tough to allow fur to sprout, and two of the legs have migrated up to become arms. antennae are much longer now, while the wings are vestigial at this point. some fleas don't even have wings anymore in the third instar, while others have tiny little wing nubs. regardless, what's left of the wings isn't visible anymore in the third instar.

the fourth, final, and adult instar is where sexual dimorphism becomes evident. adult male fleas look largely like what we see in game, ie mooshka and varga. the one i've drawn has used his antennae to tie back his fluff on either side of his head so he looks like he has pigtails. male fleas also have significantly longer limbs than in the third instar, and their legs are built for leaping long distances. not that subadult fleas can't leap, but adult male fleas are experts at this. depending on strength and stature, they can leap up to several body lengths.

adult female fleas look quite different from their third instar counterparts. they're much bigger than male adult fleas, are often much fluffier, and have a noticeable abdomen that can also be seen from the front. adult males have a much smaller version of this abdomen that is hidden behind them (not pictured in the drawing). adult female fleas also don't have limbs as long as adult males, though they're also able to leap quite impressively. leaping ability is very variable among both female and male fleas, it's just that on average males tend to be able to leap more body lengths. both sexes are able to snatch baby fleas away from danger if need be though.

as for the eggs, they're about a third of the size of a baby flea when laid, and slowly grow and stretch as the flea matures inside. they hatch fully fluffed out, though they're a bit damp for the first few hours. newly hatched baby fleas are also extremely hungry and will attempt to eat anything that moves, regardless of whether it will fit in their mouths or not. adults tend to leave some meat for them when they notice eggs are ready to hatch so they can satisfy themselves and begin to calm down. they are, thankfully, not keen on cannibalism, but that's about where their mercy ends.

you can extrapolate some of my other headcanons based on how i've drawn things here, but there's always variations in body proportions and whatnot, so there can be a lot of exceptions. this is just sort of a general rule of thumb of how i think the flea life cycle works.

[afleaaday]

bandages

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bench

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burned my hand 👍🏼 no art posts today and probably for the next few days unfortunately

[afleaaday]

a flea a day: sinner

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a flea a day: flute

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a flea a day: screaming

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instead of having an art post today and tomorrow so i don’t have to worry about drawing during christmas festivities, i’ve made some silly edits! all flea themed, of course.

it looks like the flea has a christmas tree set up and a big present under the tree! i wonder what’s in it…

[afleaaday]

it turns out zaza was in the present all along! garmond is here too, as he wanted to be with zaza! and everyone has christmas hats! what a lovely occasion :)

[transgenderfivepebbles]

Caretaker is drowning

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this isn't about him.

[afleaaday]

instead of having an art post today and tomorrow so i don’t have to worry about drawing during christmas festivities, i’ve made some silly edits! all flea themed, of course.

it looks like the flea has a christmas tree set up and a big present under the tree! i wonder what’s in it…

[afleaaday]

it turns out zaza was in the present all along! garmond is here too, as he wanted to be with zaza! and everyone has christmas hats! what a lovely occasion :)

[afleaaday]

instead of having an art post today and tomorrow so i don’t have to worry about drawing during christmas festivities, i’ve made some silly edits! all flea themed, of course.

it looks like the flea has a christmas tree set up and a big present under the tree! i wonder what’s in it…

[afleaaday]

a flea a day: footprint

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belated post to show another full page of doodles!