If you or your child come down with a head lice infestation it is important to understand the life cycle of these creatures in order to kill the infestation. Lice are a parasitic insect that live close to the scalp in the hair of humans. These parasites feed off of blood and are very small, about the size of a sesame seed. They usually appear to be a dull gray-brown color. The life cycle of lice is in three distinct phases.
The first phase in the life of a louse (singular for lice) is the nit stage. A nit is the actual egg that houses the body of a growing louse. These eggs are very small, about the size of a pinhead, and are colorless. They usually appear to be similar to dandruff but cannot be removed as easily because they are glued to the hair or scalp. These cannot be removed simply by washing the hair, a delousing comb and possibly a special shampoo are required. A female louse lays five or six eggs every day and the eggs take seven to ten days to hatch.
The second stage of a louse's life cycle is the nymph stage. These are newly hatched louse which grow to be fully grown in as little as a week. Nymphs spend most of their time feeding on the blood of their host by biting through the scalp with a long straw like mouth.
The last stage in the life cycle of lice is the adult stage. By this time they have six legs and are fully grown. They usually feed once every three hours so a single louse can leave as many as eight bite marks a day. The lifetime of a adult louse is usually only about a month. A female adult will lay as many as 100 nits in her lifetime. The adult louse is usually a grey or brown.
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