Where do lice live and what do they eat?

Lice are small parasitic insects from the order of the Poohorae - insects that feed on animal hair, bird feathers and other derivatives of the skin of living creatures. This is probably why many people mistakenly think that lice eat hair.

The fact that, as a rule, with pediculosis - overwhelmingness, the loss of hair is also contributing to the error. However, this is only evidence of the development of an inflammatory reaction and metabolic disorders. So, let's find out what lice actually eat, where they live and how they breed.

Insect lifestyle from the lice suborder

Lice lifestyle is closely related to its owner. On it they live, eat and breed. Moreover, they can exist only on a certain type of animal, since they are strictly specialized parasites.

Where do they live?

The habitat of lice depends on the type of animal whose parasites they are. For example, elephant louse lives on the surface of the skin of elephants. Dog - in the coat of dogs. Rat - on the body of rodents. On birds, a separate group of insects parasitizes, which are called poohoyedami.

Occasionally, some species can change hosts. However, they do this only in extreme need and, in any favorable case, try to return to their usual way of life. Forced "migrants" on the new owner breed very reluctantly. The development of their larvae, as a rule, is delayed, or even completely stopped. The parasite, for some reason completely deprived of the host, dies very quickly. Sometimes this happens within a few hours. These insects are absolutely not adapted to life in external conditions, far from the body of the animal.

Where do human lice live? On the human body, only two types of lice are able to parasitize:

• human
• pubic.

Pubic louse is also called ploschita. She constantly lives on the human body. She usually chooses areas covered with thick, stiff hair:

• pubis;
• genitals
• armpit;
• eyelashes;
• a beard;
• mustache;
• chest and abdomen in men.

The surface is not adapted to life on the head, unlike another type of parasite - head lice.

Head louse is a variety human. She lives only on the scalp, never passing to the body. Such selectivity is explained by the structural features of her legs. They are adapted to movement along the hairs of only circular cross section and are not able to stay on native vegetation, which in the section has the form of a triangle.

Another kind of human lice - cootie. She is a close relative of parasites living on people’s heads. The habitat of body lice is human clothing. On the surface of the human body, parasites only feed. In linen, they live, mate and lay their eggs. Their larvae, nymphs, also develop in clothes.

Do human lice live in pillows? No, they do not live. Neither the head nor the wardrobe, much less pubic louse not adapted to life away from the human body.However, some individuals may inadvertently appear on the surface of bedding, inadvertently losing the owner during night rest. Without food and heat, they quickly weaken and die within a fairly short time.

Interesting fact! Head lice prefer clean heads. It turns out that it’s easier for them to move around and feed!

What is their food?

What do lice eat? The answer to this question is only one - blood. They simply cannot swallow anything else. Their oral apparatus is adapted only for piercing the skin and pumping blood into an insatiable belly. The myth that they eat hair and other skin derivatives is not based on anything. The suborder of lice is not able to absorb solid food. Particles of dead epithelium, hairs, sweat and feathers are fed by lice-eaters and lice-eaters.

What do human lice eat? Like the rest of the insects of their squad, they feed on blood. They maintain this diet throughout their life, with the exception of the developmental stage, which takes place in the egg.

Lice nutrition is as follows:

1. Lice pierces the skin with two hard stilettos, which are modified processes of the upper jaw and lower lip.
2. The external skin fold surrounding the oral apparatus is turned outward, fixing itself on the skin of the owner with peculiar hooks.
3. A proboscis is lowered into the punctured hole, through which salivary secretion is introduced into the wound, which prevents blood coagulation.
4. The esophagus begins to expand rhythmically and contract, thereby fulfilling the role of a pump that pumps blood into the body of the parasite.

At one time, a louse is able to drink about 0.5 mg of blood. In total, she feeds 4-5 times a day.

The nutrition issue for lice is vital. High breeding intensity and rapid development require a large amount of food. Without it, insects quickly weaken and die within a fairly short time.

How long does lice live outside the head? As we have said, far from the human body, these insects die very quickly. Head lice is no exception. At a usual temperature of +30 ⁰With it, it can last only a couple of days. The carpenter is able to withstand hunger even less time - just a day. But the parasites that live in clothes can starve for four days.

Interesting fact! In the Middle Ages, lice were revered as creatures carrying Christian blood. A sign of special piety then was considered the rejection of bath procedures throughout life.

How do they breed?

Lice breed in the same place where they live - on the body of the owner. Conventionally, the entire process can be divided into the following stages:

• mating of males and females;
• fertilization of eggs;
• egg-laying.

Eggs, or, as they are also called, nits, are surrounded by a dense protective shell. It helps embryos protect themselves from adverse environmental conditions. Over the course of her life, a female can produce from several tens to several hundred eggs. Such high fecundity ensures the survival of the mind.

The larvae hatching from the egg molt three times before becoming an adult insect. Outwardly, they are very similar to adults, except that they are inferior in size and have underdeveloped genitals.

Other features of lice life

Lice life also has other peculiarities peculiar only to them. The most interesting of these are the following facts:

1. For the successful continuation of the genus, the female only needs to meet the male only once. She has kept his seed in her abdomen throughout her life.
2. Lice do not tolerate low temperatures. Their reproduction stops already at +20 ⁰C. They die at -5 ⁰C. They do not like heat. With the rise of the thermometer column above +50 ⁰With they die within 30 minutes.
3. On the human body, lice prefer to focus in the warmest places. Wardrobe - near the neck, lower back and armpits. Head - behind the ears and on the back of the head.
4. Wash off lice with water will not work. They firmly cling to the hair and block the breathing holes on the sides.
5. Lice prefer one owner and rarely relocate unnecessarily.

Interesting facts about lice and head lice can be found in this video: