What Does Like Look Like?

Lice are human parasites that are found only on people and not in any other type of living or non-living organism. The origins of lice are a mystery because no one understands how these creatures came to into existence. Historical records were used by scientists, researchers and scholars to figure out that these parasitic have been around almost as long as people lived on the Earth.

Lice are also referred to as louse and this name is the singular form of the word lice. There are over 3,000 species of this insect and they are primarily found on people and the vast majority of other types of mammalian creatures. Lice are wingless insects that attach themselves to a human or animal host in order to feed off their blood or skin secretions. As many as 15 different species of lice can inhabit a particular animal. Humans have three different types of lice which are found on their head, body and pubic regions.

Life Cycle of Lice

Lice have a three stage life cycle. They first start off as eggs, they then grow into nymphs and adulthood is the last stage of their existence. It typically takes 6 to 12 days for a louse to hatch and enter into the nymph stage. During the second stage of their lives it takes around 7 to 14 days for nymphs to grow into adults. Once these insects arrive at the adult stage they typically live up to 30 days or longer.

Female lice are larger than males and they creatures resemble crabs in appearance. For this reason they are sometimes referred to as “crabs” which is a street term for these creatures. Head, body and pubic lice all resemble each other but they have slight differences. Head and body lice have long bodies that are shaped like a diamond and their legs are located toward the front part of their bodies. Body lice have a darker appearance than head lice. Pubic lice have wide oval looking bodies and they have thicker legs. This particular type of louse also has features on its back that resemble spikes. These creatures are typically red, brown, tan, gray or black and they have the ability to camouflage their appearance.

Head lice are 2-3 millimeters long and they attach themselves to a person’s head and neck. They place their eggs at the base of the hair shaft and they move by crawling through a person’s scalp. They cannot fly or hop. Body lice live in clothing and they lay their eggs in them as well. They have the same size as head lice. They feed on human skin but they establish their homes in a person’s clothing. This particular type of parasite has been known to spread disease. Pubic lice are the biggest type of the three and they can grow as large as 4 millimeters in length. They attach themselves to a person’s pubic region and they also can be found in other parts of the body such as armpits and eyebrows.

When lice feed on their host they inject them with an anesthesia in order to numb an area of the skin. Once the fluid has been injected into the host they began to consume their meal. Numbing the skin before piercing it allows the creatures to feed for long periods of time without being detected. Lice also feed two times a day and they move very quickly around a person’s infected area so they reduce their chances of being detected.

Remedies for treating lice include washing and cleaning garments, removing hair from the body, applying over the counter remedies (that contain 1% permethrin), using a comb to remove them from the scalp and possibly throwing out all clothing materials that have come into contact with these creatures.