Fluorescence Digital Image Gallery

Head Lice

Head lice occur in three stages: the nit, the nymph, and the adult. Nits are small, oval-shaped, yellowish eggs. Often they are difficult to see and can be confused with dandruff or droplets of hair spray. After one week the nits hatch into nymphs, baby lice. Nymphs look like small adult lice, but are only about the size of a pinhead. They mature after seven to 14 days of feeding on blood. About the size of a sesame seed, the adult louse can be seen with the naked eye. They live about 30 days, securing themselves to individual hairs with claws found at the end of each of their six legs. They can also be found behind the ears and near the neckline at the back of the neck. An adult female louse may deposit more than 100 eggs in her lifetime at a rate of about six eggs each day.


© 1995-2022 by Michael W. Davidson and The Florida State University. All Rights Reserved. No images, graphics, software, scripts, or applets may be reproduced or used in any manner without permission from the copyright holders. Use of this website means you agree to all of the Legal Terms and Conditions set forth by the owners.
This website is maintained by our
Graphics & Web Programming Team
in collaboration with Optical Microscopy at the
National High Magnetic Field Laboratory.
Last modification: Monday, Dec 01, 2003 at 01:59 PM
Access Count Since April 30, 2003: 13376
Microscopes provided by:
Visit the Nikon website. Visit the Olympus Microscopy Resource Center website.