Lice are small wingless insects that live asectoparasites of mammals and birds. They areusually classified within the order Phthiraptera,although some authors have placed them in twoseparate orders, the Mallophaga, which includesthe chewing lice, and Anoplura, the sucking lice.The later includes the three lice that parasitehumans: Pediculus humanus capitis (the headlice), P. humanus humanus (the body lice), bothof the family Pediculidae, and the pubic lice,Pthirus pubis (family Pthiridae) (Borror et al.