Troctomorpha

This week’s podcast is guaranteed to make your scalp crawl—but don’t worry, it’s most likely all in your head, and not on it. We’ll visit entomologist Richard Pollack to learn about an insect that’s the bane of parents and school principals everywhere—or is it? Ari Daniel Shapiro explains. Photo Credit: Gilles San Martin, CC BY-SA Download a transcript of this podcast read moreDuration: 5:04Published: Wed, 08 Aug 2012 13:52:49 +0000

Asker, Akershus, Norge

Hovedhår

Life cycle of the Head Louse (Pediculus humanus capitis), an ectparasite of humansThe life cycle of the Head Louse (Pediculis humanus capitis) has three stages: egg, nymph, and adult. Eggs: Nits are Head Lice eggs. They are hard to see and are often mistaken for dandruff or hair spray droplets. Nits are laid by the adult female and are cemented at the base of the hair shaft nearest the scalp (1). They are 0.8 mm by 0.3 mm, oval and usually yellow to white. Nits take about 1 week to hatch (range 6 to 9 days). Viable eggs are usually located within 6 mm of the scalp. Nymphs: The egg hatches to release a nymph (2). The nit shell then becomes a more visible dull yellow and remains attached to the hair shaft. The nymph looks like an adult head louse, but is about the size of a pinhead. Nymphs mature after three molts (3, 4) and become adults about 7 days after hatching. Adults: The adult louse is about the size of a sesame seed, has 6 legs (each with claws), and is tan to grayish-white (5). In persons with dark hair, the adult louse will appear darker. Females are usually larger than males and can lay up to 8 nits per day. Adult lice can live up to 30 days on a person’s head. To survive , adult lice need to feed on blood several times daily. Without blood meals, the louse will die within 1 to 2 days off the host.From Centers for Disease Control Parasites and Health website.

Figure 1.Photograph of habitus of Libanopsyllipsocus alexanderasnitsyni gen. et sp. n., holotype, male, specimen number 30.

Figures 1–10.Colpocephalum afrozeae sp. n.1 male dorsal view 2 male ventral view 3 female dorsal view 4 maxillary palp 5 antenna; 6 hypopharynx 7 prosternal plate 8 sternite IV with ctenidia 9 female terminalia ventral view 10 male genitalia

Soldotna, Alaska, United States

Pthirus pubis

Female human head louse, Pediculus humanus capitis.Technical settings : - focus stack of 46 images- microscope objective (Nikon achromatic 10x 160/0.25) directly on the body (with adapter ~30 mm)

Pediculus spp.

Longitude (deg): -1.2. Latitude (deg): 51.4. Longitude (deg/min): 1° 10' W. Latitude (deg/min): 51° 20' N. Vice county name: Berks. Vice county no.: 22. Country: England. Stage: Imago. Associated species: Rattus norvegicus. Identified by: Malcolm Storey. Comment: "Adults and nymphs on dead young brown rat, with Rat Fleas (Nosophyllus fasciatus) and the tick, Ixodes trianguliceps". Category: microscope photograph. Image scaling: microscope low magnification. Background: white background. Photo date: 4 Dec 2017. Where photo was taken: On a microscope slide. Orientation: "Left, or facing to left". Photographic equipment used: Canon EOS1000D dSLR and Olympus BX53 microscope.

Longitude (deg): -1.2. Latitude (deg): 51.4. Longitude (deg/min): 1° 10' W. Latitude (deg/min): 51° 20' N. Vice county name: Berks. Vice county no.: 22. Country: England. Stage: Imago. Associated species: Ornithomya avicularia . Identified by: Malcolm Storey. Comment: "Phoretic on side of abdomen of male, *Ornithomya avicularia*, on dead juvenile Blackbird under window". Category: microscope photograph. Image scaling: magnified. Photographic equipment used: Nikon D100 dSLR with Tamron SP T90 AF Macro 1:1 lens.

Country: United Kingdom. Stage: Imago. Identified by: Malcolm Storey. Category: standard photograph or close-up. Photographic equipment used: "35mm transparencies (on a variety of films, but Agfa CT18 in the 1960's to early 1980's followed by Fujichrome in the late 1980's.) Transparencies scanned with Minolta Dimage Scan Dual II AF-2820U transparency scanner.".

Asker, Akershus, Norge

Hovedhår

Life cycle of the Pubic (or Crab) Louse (Pthirus pubis), an ectoparasite of humansPubic lice (Pthirus pubis) have three stages: egg, nymph and adult. Eggs (nits) are laid on a hair shaft (1). Females will lay approximately 30 eggs during their 3-4 week life span. Eggs hatch after about a week and become nymphs, which look like smaller versions of the adults. The nymphs undergo three molts (2, 3, 4) before becoming adults (5). Adults are 1.5-2.0 mm long and flattened. They are much broader in comparison to head and body lice. Adults are found only on the human host and require human blood to survive. If adults are forced off the host, they will die within 24-48 hours without a blood feeding. Pubic lice are transmitted from person to person most commonly via sexual contact, although fomites (bedding, clothing) may play a minor role in their transmission.From Centers for Disease Control Parasites and Health website.

Figure 10.Drawing of hypandrium of Libanopsyllipsocus alexanderasnitsyni gen. et sp. n., holotype, male; par = paraproct, ep = epiproct, trich = trichobothria; scale bar = 0.3 mm.

Figures 11–12.Colpocephalum afrozeae sp. n. 11 penis details 12 genital sclerite.

Pthirus pubis

Pediculus spp.

Longitude (deg): -1.2. Latitude (deg): 51.4. Longitude (deg/min): 1° 10' W. Latitude (deg/min): 51° 20' N. Vice county name: Berks. Vice county no.: 22. Country: England. Stage: Imago. Associated species: Rattus norvegicus. Identified by: Malcolm Storey. Comment: "Adults and nymphs on dead young brown rat, with Rat Fleas (Nosophyllus fasciatus) and the tick, Ixodes trianguliceps". Category: microscope photograph. Image scaling: microscope low magnification. Background: white background. Photo date: 4 Dec 2017. Where photo was taken: On a microscope slide. Orientation: "Left, or facing to left". Photographic equipment used: Canon EOS1000D dSLR and Olympus BX53 microscope.

Longitude (deg): -1.2. Latitude (deg): 51.4. Longitude (deg/min): 1° 10' W. Latitude (deg/min): 51° 20' N. Vice county name: Berks. Vice county no.: 22. Country: England. Stage: Imago. Associated species: Ornithomya avicularia . Identified by: Malcolm Storey. Comment: "Phoretic on side of abdomen of male, *Ornithomya avicularia*, on dead juvenile Blackbird under window". Category: microscope photograph. Image scaling: magnified. Photographic equipment used: Nikon D100 dSLR with Tamron SP T90 AF Macro 1:1 lens.

Country: United Kingdom. Stage: Imago. Identified by: Malcolm Storey. Category: standard photograph or close-up. Photographic equipment used: "35mm transparencies (on a variety of films, but Agfa CT18 in the 1960's to early 1980's followed by Fujichrome in the late 1980's.) Transparencies scanned with Minolta Dimage Scan Dual II AF-2820U transparency scanner.".

Hovedhår