Page 112 - Florida Pest Control Examinations

BODY LICE & CLAW HEAD PUBIC LICE
LICE
EGGS ON
HAIR

Photo Courtesy of UNIVAR Photo Courtesy of UNIVAR Photo Courtesy of UNIVAR
BODY LICE BIRD LICE

Photo Courtesy of UNIVAR Photo Courtesy of UNIVAR

1.Antenna- small 4 segmented 6.Thorax LICE
2.Eyes 7.Petiole- none
3.Head 8.Abdomen- tear drop shape 3 8
4.Legs- 6 9.Color- reddish to brownish
5.Wings- none 10.Other- crab-like in appearance

Life Cycle
For most lice, about 5-12 eggs are produced each day until 100-200
are laid, and they hatch in around a week to 10 days. They hatch into
nymphs which go through three instars over the next 1-4 weeks, all 1
looking for their blood meal. Adults only live for 3-4 weeks. Pubic lice
are slower to develop. Photo Courtesy of UNIVAR

BIRD & ANIMAL LICE Actual size 3/32”

The bird louse is fairly small, about 3/32nd of an inch long. It chews on the barbules of bird feathers.
Eggs are laid on the underside of wings, but bird lice apparently do little harm to the birds that carry
them. The Chicken Head Louse and the Large Turkey Louse can cause problems for poultry, however.
Animal lice are a “sucking” louse, and just about any lice found on animals can also host upon humans.
They are a true parasite, and can cause harm to their host by transmitting diseases. Animal lice are
generally a little larger, about 1/16 to 3/16ths of an inch in length.
HEAD LICE
Human lice are not as common as in the past, but outbreaks occur especially among elementary school
children. It is a sucking louse, and as the name implies is only found on people. The bite causes ir-
ritation, and it has spread Typhus in the past. The adults are small, 1/16 to 3/16 inch in body size. The
eggs are attached to hair, and are referred to as “nits”.

PUBIC LICE (“crabs”)
These lice are small, only about 1/16th inch, and with a body shaped like a crab, with tiny claws. It usu-
ally lives in the pubic region among the hairs, and is frequently transmitted by sexual contact. Infesta-
tion brings localized itching and irritation, but pubic lice do not transmit diseases.

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