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. http://phthiraptera.myspecies.info/

RECENT NEWS:

1) Sept. 2022: A decision has been taken to hold the next ICP meeting (ICP7) virtually, owing to the ongoing disruption to travel to China. The meeting, hosted by the Institute of Zoology, Guangdong Academy of Sciences, will be July 10-16th, 2023. For more details see the meeting website.

2) April, 2022: Terri Lynn Meinking, April 8, 1951 - February 1, 2022. We are sad to report the death of Terri Meinking. Many within the Phthiraptera community will be familiar with Terri's work on human head lice as well as her lifelong study of entomology, microbiology, and pesticides. Her service was held at Arlington Memorial Gardens in Cincinnati, Ohio on February 26th and you can read her obituary here, and listen to a recording of the service here.

3) Sept. 2020: A comprehensive consensus review on the best practice for control of head louse infestations was recently published (August 2020).