Louse Life Cycle

From WikiVet English
Revision as of 20:19, 11 July 2012 by Bara (talk | contribs)

(diff) ← Older revision | Approved revision (diff) | Latest revision (diff) | Newer revision → (diff)

Jump to navigation Jump to search


Both sucking and chewing lice have similar life cycles. The females lay eggs, which are usually white. The female is capable of producing several hundred eggs in a lifetime. These stick to the hair or feathers on the host. Sucking lice feed on blood using their piercing mouth parts. Mammalian chewing lice feed on hair shafts or dermis. The bird lice are also capable of digesting keratin, so can eat feathers.

There is no real metamorphosis. The egg hatches into a nymph, which is essentially a juvenile louse. They are similar to adults, except just smaller.

After three further moults the adults usually fully mature.

A heavy louse infestation is known as pediculosis.

The complete life cycle takes around 2-3 weeks, and the louse generally spend their entire life on the host.

In some species parthenogenesis may also occur.


Louse Life Cycle Learning Resources
FlashcardsFlashcards logo.png
Flashcards
Test your knowledge using flashcard type questions
Lice Flashcards
CABICABI logo.jpg
Literature Search
Search for recent publications via CAB Abstract
(CABI log in required)
Louse life cycle publications


References

Taylor, M.A, Coop, R.L., Wall,R.L. (2007) Veterinary Parasitology Blackwell Publishing




Error in widget FBRecommend: unable to write file /var/www/wikivet.net/extensions/Widgets/compiled_templates/wrt673ef09ebc1bd7_02064252
Error in widget google+: unable to write file /var/www/wikivet.net/extensions/Widgets/compiled_templates/wrt673ef09ec86ef1_12665821
Error in widget TwitterTweet: unable to write file /var/www/wikivet.net/extensions/Widgets/compiled_templates/wrt673ef09ed3ee29_75313162
WikiVet® Introduction - Help WikiVet - Report a Problem