"Lice" redirects here. For the infection, see Pediculosis. For the district of Diyarbakır Province in Turkey, see Lice, Turkey. For the episode of The Office, see Lice (The Office). For other uses, see Louse (disambiguation).
Phthiraptera
Temporal range: Cenomanian–present
PreꞒ
Ꞓ
O
S
D
C
P
T
J
K
Pg
N
Light micrograph of Fahrenholzia pinnata
Scientific classification
Domain:
Eukaryota
Kingdom:
Animalia
Phylum:
Arthropoda
Class:
Insecta
Order:
Psocodea
Suborder:
Troctomorpha
Infraorder:
Nanopsocetae
Parvorder:
Phthiraptera Haeckel, 1896
Clades[1]
Amblycera
Anoplura
Rhyncophthirina
Ischnocera
Trichodectera?
Louse (pl.: lice) is the common name for any member of the clade Phthiraptera, which contains nearly 5,000 species of wingless parasitic insects. Phthiraptera has variously been recognized as an order, infraorder, or a parvorder, as a result of developments in phylogenetic research.[1][2][3]
Lice are obligate parasites, living externally on warm-blooded hosts which include every species of bird and mammal, except for monotremes, pangolins, and bats. Lice are vectors of diseases such as typhus.
Chewing lice live among the hairs or feathers of their host and feed on skin and debris, whereas sucking lice pierce the host's skin and feed on blood and other secretions. They usually spend their whole life on a single host, cementing their eggs, called nits, to hairs or feathers. The eggs hatch into nymphs, which moult three times before becoming fully grown, a process that takes about four weeks.
Genetic evidence indicates that lice are a highly modified lineage of Psocoptera (now called Psocodea), commonly known as booklice, barklice or barkflies. The oldest known fossil lice are from the Cretaceous.[4]
Humans host two species of louse—the head louse and the body louse are subspecies of Pediculus humanus; and the pubic louse, Pthirus pubis. The body louse has the smallest genome of any known insect; it has been used as a model organism and has been the subject of much research.
Lice were ubiquitous in human society until at least the Middle Ages. They appear in folktales, songs such as The Kilkenny Louse House, and novels such as James Joyce's Finnegans Wake. They commonly feature in the psychiatric disorder delusional parasitosis. A louse was one of the early subjects of microscopy, appearing in Robert Hooke's 1667 book, Micrographia.
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^Zhang, Y.; Rasnitsyn, A. P.; Zhang, W.; Song, F.; Shih, C.; Ren, D.; Wang, Y.; Li, H.; Gao, T. (2024). "Stem chewing lice on Cretaceous feathers preserved in amber". Current Biology. 34 (4): 916–922.e1. doi:10.1016/j.cub.2024.01.027. PMID 38320551.
species of louse—the head louse and the body louse are subspecies of Pediculus humanus; and the pubic louse, Pthirus pubis. The body louse has the smallest...
The head louse (Pediculus humanus capitis) is an obligate ectoparasite of humans. Head lice are wingless insects that spend their entire lives on the...
"To A Louse, On Seeing One on a Lady's Bonnet at Church" is a 1786 Scots language poem by Robert Burns in his favourite meter, standard Habbie. The poem's...
crab louse or pubic louse (Pthirus pubis) is an insect that is an obligate ectoparasite of humans, feeding exclusively on blood. The crab louse usually...
The body louse (Pediculus humanus humanus, also known as Pediculus humanus corporis) is a hematophagic ectoparasite louse that infests humans. It is one...
A whale louse is a crustacean of the family Cyamidae. Despite the name, it is not a true louse (which are insects), but rather is related to the skeleton...
Cymothoa exigua, or the tongue-eating louse, is a parasitic isopod of the family Cymothoidae. It enters fish through the gills. The female attaches to...
A bird louse is any chewing louse (small, biting insects) of order Phthiraptera which parasitizes warm-blooded animals, especially birds. Bird lice may...
clothing, and Pediculus humanus capitis, or the human head louse. Pthirus pubis (the human pubic louse) is the cause of the condition known as crabs. These...
Hog louse may mean: Hog louse, Haematopinus suis, a large parasitic louse living on the skin of domestic swine Hog-louse or water hog-louse, applied to...
Sea lice (singular: sea louse) are copepods (small crustaceans) of the family Caligidae within the order Siphonostomatoida. They are marine ectoparasites...
Crustaceans are a group of arthropods that are a part of the subphylum Crustacea (/krəˈsteɪʃə/), a large, diverse group of mainly aquatic arthropods including...
Isopoda. They get their name from often being found in old wood, and from louse, a parasitic insect, although woodlice are neither parasitic nor insects...
head louse. Pediculosis may be divided into the following types:: 446–8 Pediculosis capitis (Head lice infestation) Pediculosis corporis (Body louse infestation...
extinctus, also known as the passenger pigeon chewing louse, is an extant species of phtilopterid louse. It was once believed to have become extinct with...
Epidemic typhus, also known as louse-borne typhus, is a form of typhus so named because the disease often causes epidemics following wars and natural...
pediculosis capitis, is the infection of the head hair and scalp by the head louse (Pediculus humanus capitis). Itching from lice bites is common. During a...
The salmon louse (Lepeophtheirus salmonis) is a species of copepod in the genus Lepeophtheirus. It is a sea louse, a parasite living mostly on salmon,...
debated and studied for centuries. However, the number of cases of human louse infestations (or pediculosis) has increased worldwide since the mid-1960s...
Pseudolynchia canariensis, the pigeon louse fly or pigeon fly, is a species of biting fly in the family of louse flies, Hippoboscidae. Pseudolynchia canariensis...
body louse (Pediculus humanus humanus) is a vector. Louse-borne relapsing fever is more severe than the tick-borne variety.[citation needed] Louse-borne...
humanus is a species of louse that infects humans. It comprises two subspecies: Pediculus humanus humanus Linnaeus, 1758 – body louse Pediculus humanus capitis...
Also, make sure to regularly clean yourself and your clothing to help kill louse. This also goes for things like bedding and towels. Make sure to not share...
Louse Creek may refer to: Louse Creek (Alaska), a stream in Aleutians West Census Area Louse Creek (Missouri) Louse Creek (Niobrara River tributary),...
Hippoboscidae, the louse flies or keds, are obligate parasites of mammals and birds. In this family, the winged species can fly at least reasonably well...
The Mallophaga are a possibly paraphyletic section of lice, known as chewing lice, biting lice, or bird lice, containing more than 3000 species. These...
The stone louse (Petrophaga lorioti, in German Steinlaus) is a fictitious animal created by German humorist Loriot in 1976 to parody nature documentaries...
Aphids are small sap-sucking insects and members of the superfamily Aphidoidea. Common names include greenfly and blackfly, although individuals within...
Ergasilus is a genus of copepod crustaceans occurring in both the ocean and fresh water, often called gill lice. The females are parasitic upon the gills...
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