What do ticks and lice look like? - briefly
Ticks are small, oval‑shaped arachnids, typically brown to reddish, with a hard, smooth shield and eight legs visible after the larval stage. Lice are tiny, wingless insects, gray‑white to tan, with a flattened, elongated body and three pairs of legs ending in clawed tarsi for grasping hair or feathers.
What do ticks and lice look like? - in detail
Ticks are arachnids, typically oval or elongated, ranging from 2 mm to 10 mm when unfed. Their bodies consist of two main sections: the anterior capitulum, bearing the mouthparts, and the posterior idiosoma, covered by a tough, scaly cuticle. Color varies by species and feeding status—unfed individuals appear reddish‑brown to amber, while engorged ticks become markedly swollen and darkened, sometimes reaching the size of a grape. Legs are eight, long relative to the body, jointed, and often bear sensory hairs. Some species display distinctive dorsal patterns, such as white or cream‑colored spots on a darker background.
Lice are insects, laterally compressed, measuring 1–4 mm in length. They possess three body regions: head, thorax, and abdomen, each bearing a single pair of legs attached to the thorax. Legs end in clawed tarsi adapted for gripping hair shafts. Color ranges from gray‑white to brown, often reflecting the host’s blood meals; nymphs are paler than mature adults. The head bears a small, rounded antenna and compound eyes (absent in some species). Mouthparts form a piercing‑sucking apparatus suited for feeding on blood or skin debris. Some species exhibit a characteristic pattern of setae (bristles) on the thorax and abdomen, useful for taxonomic identification.