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Anoplura (Sucking Lice)

bug with legs curled around hair on my wrist - Pediculus humanus Found this Bug in Our Bed - Pediculus humanus Pediculus sp., Head lice - Pediculus Human head louse - Pediculus humanus Pediculus humanus Pediculus humanus  - Pediculus humanus Female, Pediculus humanus capitis - Pediculus humanus - female Egg, Pediculus humanus capitis - Pediculus humanus
Classification
Kingdom Animalia (Animals)
Phylum Arthropoda (Arthropods)
Subphylum Hexapoda (Hexapods)
Class Insecta (Insects)
Order Psocodea (Barklice, Booklice, and Parasitic Lice)
No Taxon (Phthiraptera (Parasitic Lice))
No Taxon Anoplura (Sucking Lice)
Synonyms and other taxonomic changes
Ellipoptera Shipley, 1904. Zoologischer Anzeiger 27:260
Numbers
Nearctica lists 9 families.
Identification
Wingless, flat-bodied. Resemble chewing lice but the head is narrower than the thorax. Mouthparts are fitted for piercing skin and sucking blood.
Food
Parasites of mammals. Most species are restricted to one or a few hosts.
In human head and body louse, there is a symbiotic relationship with Riesia pediculicola, a proteobacteria, that assist in providing the insect with sufficient amino acids.(1)
Life Cycle
Simple metamorphosis.
Remarks
Some are vectors of serious diseases in humans and some domestic animals.

[Note: This guide page was copied from another with contributions from Boris Büche and Beatriz Moisset.]
Print References
(2)
Works Cited
1.The Insects : Structure and Function
R. F. Chapman. 1998. Cambridge University Press.
2.Borror and DeLong's Introduction to the Study of Insects
Norman F. Johnson, Charles A. Triplehorn. 2004. Brooks Cole.