What does the clothing louse feed on? - briefly
The clothing louse subsists on human blood, piercing the skin to ingest it. It feeds primarily on the host’s capillary blood during its adult stage.
What does the clothing louse feed on? - in detail
The clothing louse subsists exclusively on human blood. Adult insects locate a host by crawling from garment seams to exposed skin, then insert their mandibles into the epidermis and draw blood for 5–10 minutes per feeding episode. Each meal provides roughly 0.5–1 µL of plasma, sufficient to sustain the insect for two to three days before the next intake.
Nymphal stages follow the same dietary pattern; newly hatched lice must obtain a blood meal within 24 hours to molt successfully. All developmental stages possess a foregut adapted to rapid ingestion and a midgut equipped with proteolytic enzymes that break down hemoglobin and plasma proteins. Waste is expelled as dark fecal pellets, which accumulate on clothing fibers and serve as a diagnostic indicator.
The species can endure periods without nourishment, surviving up to ten days in the absence of a host, but reproductive output declines sharply if meals are missed. Females require a blood meal before each oviposition; a single female may lay 5–10 eggs per feeding cycle, embedding them in garment seams where they hatch in 7–10 days.
Key aspects of the feeding biology:
- Host specificity: Human blood is the sole nutrient source; no plant or synthetic material is utilized.
- Feeding frequency: Every 48–72 hours under optimal conditions.
- Meal volume: 0.5–1 µL per session, delivering proteins, lipids, and carbohydrates essential for growth.
- Physiological adaptation: Specialized mouthparts, anticoagulant saliva, and efficient digestive enzymes.
- Survival without food: Up to ten days, with reduced fecundity.
Understanding these details clarifies why control measures focus on eliminating blood access by washing, drying, or discarding infested garments, thereby interrupting the lice’s exclusive nutritional pathway.