Welcome to Phthiraptera.myspecies.info

Lice (Insecta: Phthiraptera) are permanent, obligate ectoparasites of birds and mammals. Most are highly host specific, and consequently lice are present in every continent and virtually every habitat occupied by birds and mammals. This website is a collection or digital resources on parasitic lice. This includes extensive literature, image and checklist databases. Major contributors include Dr. Vince Smith from the Natural History Museum, London and the late Dr. Bob Dalgleish. From 2006 these resources are managed by Vince Smith on behalf of the International Society of Phthirapterists, an informal group of specialists working on various aspects of parasitic louse biology. If you would like to contribute to this website please contact Vince Smith.

Cite as: Smith, V.S, Broom, Y. and Dalgleish, R †. Phthiraptera.info (web resource). Accessed Day-Month-Year. https://phthiraptera.myspecies.info/

RECENT NEWS:

1)Message from The International Society of Phthirapterists: With much sadness, we report the recent passing of Dr. Roger Price. Professor Emeritus Roger D. Price passed away peacefully at his residence on August 3, 2024, just one day shy of his 95th birthday on August 4. Dr. Price was an outstanding louse taxonomist and made significant contributions to our science. Dr. Price joined the Entomology Department in 1955 and taught medical and introductory entomology. He retired in 1991 and moved with his wife to Ft. Smith, Arkansas, where he lived until 2020. He moved to Minnesota at that time to be closer to his daughter. Dr. Price is survived by two daughters, a son, five grandchildren, and two great-grandchildren. We thank Dr. Bob Timm for providing the information.

2)Message from Dr. Soledad Leonardi As Guest Editor of the special issue of the Journal of Medical and Veterinary Entomology: "Mammalian ectoparasite threats and management under a changing climate in the Global South", I would like to invite you to submit your papers. This special issue has been planned to promote and encourage the submission to the journal of high-quality research on mammalian ectoparasites in the Global South that contribute to a One Health approach in these countries.
All information about the special issue can be found
at https://resjournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/hub/journal/13652915/homepag...
It is important to note that there is no publication fee for the journal and the articles included in the special issue will be available for free reading for 90 days. We will accept letters of intent until 31 October and articles for review until 31 January. Only articles with a pre-approved letter will be included in the special
issue.
 

3)**Message sent on behalf of the ISoP President, Sarah Bush regarding the 8th International Conference on Phthiraptera.  ICP8 will be held, in-person, June 10-13, 2025 in Marseille, France.  It is being hosted by our colleagues dedicated to the research of infectious and vector borne diseases at the IHU- Méditerranée Infection Foundation: Drs. Pierre-Eduard Fournier, Olivier Chosidow, Bernard Davoust, Pascal Delaunay and Arezki Izri.

Meeting Contact Information

Chairs of local organizing committee:

Dr. Pierre-Edouard Fournier, Director, IHU Mediterranee Infection Marseille, France, pierre-edouard.fournier@univ-amu.fr
Dr. Olivier Chosidow, Department of Dermatology Pitié Salpêtrière hospital, Paris, France, olivier.chosidow@aphp.fr

3) May 2024 The latest edition of the ISOP newsletter is available from on the ISOP newsletter page, including the 2023 list of Phthiraptera publications. Yoke-Shum (Sam) Broom who does most of the curation on this site, will be adding the publications in due course to make sure the medical references are as up to date as the taxonomic publications.