The louse is a small insect that attaches itself to another animal and feeds on its host's blood. It is a parasite. Different animals have different kinds of lice. Lice that live on birds or pigs do not move to human beings.
A human being can become a victim of lice if he comes into contact with another person who is carrying them. Lice thrive in dirty, unsanitary conditions. They make the victim uncomfortable, and itchy by their feedings and movement. They can also transmit the disease typhus fever.
Lice have small, flat bodies and no wings They have curved claws with which they cling to hairs or clothing of their host. The mouth-part can be extended to pierce the victim's skin and suck blood. The color of lice vanes from white to gray or black. The same louse will look redder after eating a blood dinner that shows through its thin skin.
Lice that infest human beings are separated into three types, according to which part of the body they take as home: head lice, body lice, and crab lice, who live in the pubic area, under the arms, and sometimes on the chest. Eggs, called nits, are attached to the victim's hair or laid in the seams of clothing where they develop into adults.
