Louse

High school (ages 12+)
Animals & Nature

Name:

Date:

Step 1 · Read the article

Open the article and read it at the level above. Then answer the questions below in your own words.

https://smallwhale.org/articles/louse

Write what each word means, using the article.

Do not copy the article. Write two things you learned, the way you would explain them to a friend.

Answers below are taken from the article’s stored facts, so they match what the student read.

1. What is the scientific name?Order Phthiraptera
2. What is the habitat?Worldwide, exclusively on the external surfaces of birds and mammals
3. What are lice and where do they live?Lice are tiny wingless bugs that live on people and animals, eating small bits of food like blood or skin. They cling to fur or feathers with special claws.
4. How do lice stay attached to their hosts?Their bodies are flattened to fit through fur or feathers and they have strong claws that grip tightly. They also glue their eggs, called nits, to hair or feathers.

Obligate Ectoparasite: An organism that must live on the external surface of a host to survive and reproduce.
Incomplete Metamorphosis: A type of insect development where young (nymphs) resemble smaller versions of the adult and undergo molts without a pupal stage.
Host Specificity: The degree to which a parasite is restricted to a particular host species or group of hosts.