Lice (singular: louse) is the common name for over 3000 species of wingless insects of the order Phthiraptera; three of which are classified as human disease agents. They are obligate ectoparasites of every avian and mammalian order except for monotremes (the platypus and echidnas), bats, whales, dolphins, porpoises and pangolins.
A louse's color varies from pale beige to dark gray; however, if feeding on blood, it may become considerably darker. Female lice are usually more common than the males, and some species are even known to be parthenogenetic. A louse's egg is commonly called a nit. Many lice attach their eggs to their host's hair with specialized saliva; the saliva/hair bond is very difficult to sever without specialized products. Lice inhabiting birds, however, may simply leave their eggs in parts of the body inaccessible to preening, such as the interior of feather shafts. Living lice eggs tend to be pale white. Dead lice eggs are more yellow. # Louse individuals exhibit an aggregated distribution across bird individuals, i.e. most lice live on a few bird, while most birds are relatively free of lice. This pattern is more pronounced in territorial than in colonial – more social – bird species. # Host taxa that dive under the water surface to feed on aquatic prey harbour fewer taxa of lice. # Bird taxa that are capable to exert stronger antiparasitic defense – such as stronger T cell immune response or larger uropygial glands – harbour more taxa of Amblyceran lice than others. # Temporal bottlenecks in host population size may couse a long-lasting reduction of louse taxonomic richness. E.g., birds introduced into New Zealand host fewer species of lice there than in Europe. # Louse sex ratios are more balanced in more social hosts and more female-biased in less social hosts, presumably due to the stronger isolation among louse subpopulations (living on separate birds) in the latter case.
Humans host three different kinds of lice: head lice, body lice , and pubic lice. Lice infestations can be controlled with lice combs, and medicated shampoos or washes. Adult and nymphal lice can survive on sheep-shearers' moccasins for up to 10 days, but microwaving the footwear for five minutes in a plastic bag will kill the lice.
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