This article is about the animal. For the disease known as head lice, see Head lice infestation.
Head Lice
Male human head louse.jpg
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Arthropoda
Class: Insecta
Order: Phthiraptera
Family: Pediculidae
Genus: Pediculus
Species: P. humanus
Subspecies: P. h. capitis
Trinomial name
Pediculus humanus capitis
De Geer, 1767
Synonyms
Pediculus capitis (De Geer, 1767)
The head louse (Pediculus humanus capitis) is an obligate ectoparasite of humans that causes pediculosis capitis.[1] Head lice are wingless insects spending their entire life on the human scalp and feeding exclusively on human blood.[1] Humans are the only known hosts of this specific parasite, while chimpanzees host a closely related species, Pediculus schaeffi. Other species of lice infest most orders of mammals and all orders of birds,[1] as well as other parts of the human body.