Everything about Lice totally explained
Lice (singular:
louse), (
order Phthiraptera), also known as
fly babies, are an order of over 3,000
species of wingless
insects; three of which are classified as human disease agents. They are obligate
ectoparasites of every
avian and most
mammalian orders. They are not found on
Monotremes (the
platypus and the
echidnas or spiny anteaters) and a few
eutherian orders, namely the
bats (Chiroptera),
whales, dolphins and porpoises (Cetacea) and
pangolins (Pholidota).
Description
As lice spend their whole life on the host they've developed adaptations which enable them to maintain close contact with the host. These adaptations are reflected in their size (0.5–8
mm), stout legs, and claws which are adapted to cling tightly to hair, fur and feathers, and that they're wingless and dorsoventrally flattened.
Lice feed on
skin (epidermal) debris,
feather parts,
sebaceous secretions and
blood. A louse's color varies from pale beige to dark grey; however, if feeding on blood, it may become considerably darker.
A louse
egg is commonly called a nit. Lice attach their eggs to their host's hair with specialized saliva which results in a bond that's very difficult to separate without specialized products. Living lice eggs tend to be pale white. Dead lice eggs are orangeish.
Classification
The order has traditionally been divided into two suborders; the
sucking lice (Anoplura) and
chewing lice (Mallophaga), however, recent classifications suggest that the Mallophaga are
paraphyletic and four suborders are now recognised:
It has been suggested that the order is contained by the Troctomorpha suborder of
Psocoptera.
Lice and humans
Humans are unique in that they host three different kinds of lice:
head lice,
body lice (which live mainly in clothing), and
pubic lice. The DNA differences between head lice and body lice provide corroborating evidence that humans started wearing clothes approximately 72,000 years ago.
Recent
DNA evidence suggests that pubic lice spread to the ancestors of humans approximately 3.3 million years ago from the ancestors of gorillas by sharing the same bed or other communal areas with them, and are more closely related to lice endemic to gorillas than to other lice species infesting humans.
Gallery
Image:Lice image01.jpg|The chewing louse Damalinia limbata is found on Angora goats. The male louse (right) is typically smaller than the female (left), whose posterior margin of the abdomen is more rounded than those of male lice.
Image:Louse_diagram,_Micrographia,_Robert_Hooke,_1667.jpg|Diagram of a louse, by Robert Hooke, 1667.
Image:Trichodectes canis2.jpg|Trichodectes canis, the biting dog louse
Further Information
Get more info on 'Lice'.
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