Checklist of Fauna of India: Arthropoda: Insecta: Phthiraptera.Version 1.0

Introduction: Phthiraptera is a very diverse group of insects, exclusively adapted to parasitism and commonly called lice. Order phtirraptera are divided into four suborders- Amblycera, Ischnocera, Rhynchopthirina and Anoplura. First three suborders are called the chewing lice. The species of these suborders have mandibulated mouthparts and feed on the feathers and skin debris of birds and mammals. The fourth suborders Anoplura are known as sucking lice, their mouth parts are modified for sucking/piercing in the form of pointed tube (proboscis). Phthirapteran ectoparasites are flattened dorso-ventrally, small (0.5-11 mm in length), wingless, hemimetabolous, obligatory, permanent ectoparasites of warm-blooded vertebrates. The life cycle has incomplete metamorphosis and comprising eggs (known as nits), three nymphal instars and adult.

Diversity in India: In India, total of 473 species belonging to 14 families and 99 genera of order Phthiraptera are listed as compared to globally 5,391 species of the order Phthiraptera belonging to 305 genera and 25
families have been reportedly found all over the world.

https://doi.org/10.26515/Fauna/1/2023/Arthropoda:Insecta:Phthiraptera