Louse
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Louse is the common name for any member of the infraorder Phthiraptera, which contains nearly 5,000 species of wingless parasitic insects. Phthiraptera was previously recognized as an order, until a 2
Fahrenholzia pinnata
Bovicola limbata, an ischnoceran louse from goats. The species is sexually dimorphic, with the male smaller than the female.
Drawing of a louse clinging to a human hair. Robert Hooke, Micrographia, 1667
Detail showing delousing from Jan Siberechts' painting Cour de ferme ("Farmyard"), 1662
Head louse
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The head louse is an obligate ectoparasite of humans. Head lice are wingless insects that spend their entire lives on the human scalp and feed exclusively on human blood. Humans are the only known hos
Louse
…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. Humans…
Male human head louse
Head louse and nits size comparison
Male head louse, adult
Female head louse, adult