Louse is the common name for any member of the clade Phthiraptera, which contains nearly 5,000 species of wingless parasitic insects. Phthiraptera has variously been recognized as an order, infraorder, or a parvorder, as a result of developments in phylogenetic research.
The Amblycera are a large clade of chewing lice, parasitic on both birds and mammals. The Amblycera are considered the most primitive clade of lice.
The crested goshawk is a bird of prey from tropical Asia. It is related to other diurnal raptors such as eagles, buzzards and harriers, and thus placed in the family Accipitridae.
Menoponidae is a monophyletic family of lice in the superfamily of chewing lice, Amblycera, often referred to as the chicken body louse family. They are ectoparasites of a wide range of birds including chickens, which makes them important to understand for veterinary science and for human health. However, Menoponidae are not exclusive to poultry and are common parasites for migratory birds, with more and more species being discovered every year.
The body louse is a hematophagic ectoparasite louse that infests humans. It is one of three lice which infest humans, the other two being the head louse, and the crab louse or pubic louse.
Paraneoptera or Acercaria is a superorder of insects which includes lice, thrips, and hemipterans, the true bugs. It also includes the extinct order Permopsocida, known from fossils dating from the Early Permian to the mid-Cretaceous.
Menacanthus is a genus of chewing lice which parasitise birds. The taxonomy of this genus is highly uncertain. Most taxonomies have given this genus as having over a hundred species, but recent studies have synonymised dozens of species and found other names to be invalid. Some Menacanthus species remain to be discovered, or are synonymised in error. Menacanthus lice feed on the blood of a wide variety of birds, including chickens, by piercing the quills of feathers and gnawing the epidermis. In doing so, they can spread disease and lower egg production. In Menacanthus stramineus, eggs are incubated for four or five days, each of the three nymphal stages lasts for about three days, and adult life for about twelve days. Females produce as many as four eggs in a day, averaging 1.6 eggs a day, with egg production peaking 5–6 days after reaching adulthood. On sparrows, Menacanthus lice are particularly common, and are found in many different niches, consuming blood and feathers.
Theresa Rachel "Tess" Clay was an English entomologist. She was introduced to zoology by her older relative, the ornithologist and adventurer Richard Meinertzhagen, with whom she had an unusually close relationship. She became the world's expert on Mallophaga, or chewing lice; however, her work is cast into question by her suspected role in Meinertzhagen's many scientific frauds.
The Ricinidae are a family of a larger group Amblycera of the chewing lice. All species are relatively large bodied avian ectoparasites. They typically exhibit low prevalence and low intensity. They feed on host blood which is atypical in chewing lice. Two or three genera are recognized.
Harrisoniella hopkinsi is a species of phtilopterid louse that lives on and eats the feathers of albatrosses. The species was first described by W. Eichler in 1952.
Strigiphilus is a genus of chewing louse in the suborder Ischnocera. It was circumscribed in 1910 by Eric Mjöberg.
Colpocephalum is a genus of chewing louse. Christian Ludwig Nitzsch named the genus in 1818. The Plenary Powers of the International Commission on Zoological Nomenclature selected Colpocephalum zebraBurmeister, 1838 as its type species in the 1950s. There are approximately 135 species in this genus, and they are ectoparasites of birds in at least a dozen different orders.
Rallicola is a genus of chewing louse. It is an ectoparasite of rails and other birds. It was named by Thomas Harvey Johnston and Launcelot Harrison in 1911. There are two subgenera aside from the nominotypical subgenus: Aptericola, whose species are found on kiwi birds, and Huiacola, a monospecific subgenus consisting of Rallicola extinctus, once found on the huia.
Apterygon is a genus of louse. It is endemic to New Zealand and is an ectoparasite of kiwi birds (Apteryx). Theresa Clay circumscribed the genus in 1961. In 1947, she had referred to this genus as "New Genus D", but it was not formally named as she needed to confirm the host of her specimen as well as additional material.
Actornithophilus is a genus of louse in the family Amblycera. It was circumscribed by Gordon Floyd Ferris in 1916. Its species are ectoparasites of birds in the order Charadriiformes.
Quadraceps is a genus of louse. They are ectoparasites of birds in the order Charadriiformes, and the genus was circumscribed in 1939 by Theresa Clay and Richard Meinertzhagen. Infestation is believed to increase the rate of nest desertion, lowers the success rate of baby birds hatching, reduces the number of birds in the clutch, and cause birds to attract fewer mates. All in all, the survival of the nestlings is lowered drastically.
Trichodectidae is a family of louse in the suborder Ischnocera. Its species are parasites of mammals. The following 19 genera are recognized:
Geomydoecus is a genus of louse in the suborder Ischnocera. They are parasites of gophers (Geomyidae). Species include:
Felicola is a genus of parasitic lice in the family Trichodectidae. There are at least 50 described species in Felicola.
Boopiidae is a family of lice in the order Psocodea. There are about 8 genera and more than 50 described species in Boopiidae.
