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:

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.

Submission deadline for oral presentations - March 31st and poster presentation - April 30th .More updates with links to registration, and other useful information can be found in conference website https://icp8.org/

Keynote addesses by Dr. Bret Boyd - Untangling nature's hidden experiment with lice and bacteria provides insights into the evolution of symbiosis And Dr. Dale Clayton - Mighty oaks to humble acorns grow: Roger Price and the emergence of coevoluntionary biology.