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What do head lice look like?
There are three forms of lice: the egg (also called a nit), the
nymph, and the adult. Actual size of the three lice forms compared
to a penny (Photo credit: CDC)
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Egg/Nit: Nits are head lice eggs. They are very small,
about the size of a knot in thread, hard to see, and are often
confused for dandruff or hair spray droplets. Nits are laid
by the adult female at the base of the hair shaft nearest
the scalp. They are firmly attached to the hair shaft. They
are oval and usually yellow to white. Nits take about 1 week
to hatch. Eggs that are likely to hatch are usually located
within 1/4 inch of the scalp.Illustration of
egg on a hair shaft (Image credit: CDC)
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Nymph: The nit hatches into a baby louse
called a nymph. It looks like an adult head louse, but is smaller.
Nymphs mature into adults about 7 days after hatching. To live,
the nymph must feed on blood. Nymph form (Photo
credit: CDC) |
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| Adult: The adult louse is about
the size of a sesame seed, has six legs, and is tan to greyish-white.
In persons with dark hair, the adult louse will look darker.
Females, which are usually larger than the males, lay eggs.
Adult lice can live up to 30 days on a person's head. To live,
adult lice need to feed on blood. If the louse falls off a person,
it dies within 2 days. Adult louse (Image credit:
CDC) |
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