Insects Pterozoa Mallophaga (bird lice, feather lice)

Commonly known as feather lice. They are small in size, have tough body walls, are wingless, and are good at crawling. It often parasitizes birds, and a few parasitizes outside the body of mammals. It feeds on hair dander, scales and skin secretions, causing itching and irritability in the host, hindering the growth of poultry, and spreading poultry diseases. There are also a few species that suck the blood of their hosts. There are more than 4,500 known species in the world, and there are 931 species in my country.

[Identification points] Body length 0.5-10 mm, generally no more than 5 mm. Long or broadly rounded, dorsally and ventrally flat, white, light yellow or brown. The head is approximately triangular, the compound eyes are degenerated, and there is no single eye. The antennae are short and the mouthparts are chewing. The anterior chest is independent, and the middle and posterior chest are independent or fused with each other. Foot climbing pose. No tail whiskers.

The characteristics of this order can be summarized as follows: the lower mouth is a chewing trichophagus, the antennae are short with three or five segments; the front chest is completely wingless, and bird lice are parasitic on the skin of birds and animals.

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