Pictures Of Head Lice

Pictures of head lice on this page show the head louse at various stages of development, from lice egg (called nits) to nymph (young louse) to adult louse also known as Pediculus humanus capitis. Although they are extremely repulsive in appearance and look quite frightening they are extremely tiny.


Some of these pictures of head lice have been taken through an electron microscope and are therefore highly magnified, in reality the adult louse is barely visible to the eye and is about the size of a sesame seed.

Head lice feed on human blood throughout the day and although the lice are predominantly found on the scalp of the host thus the name 'head lice', these tiny parasites can also be found on eyebrows and the eyelashes.

It is estimated that in the United States alone up to 12 million infestations occur every year in children between the ages of 3 and 11 years and they generally spread from one child to the next by head to head contact or through items such as brushes and combs. They move by crawling and cling to the hair shaft with claws on each of their six legs.

Here are some Facts

Stage-1: Lice eggs (nits)

when the female louse lays her eggs each nit is firmly glued to the hair shaft near to the scalp. Nits are barely visible to the eye and are often mistaken for dandruff. Normally they hatch within 8 - 9 days

Stage-2: Nymph

A nymph is a young but still developing louse that has hatched from the lice egg. Looks very much like an adult louse but smaller as can be seen in these pictures of head lice (see the third picture below) To survive the nymph must feed on the blood of its host and will mature into an adult louse within 12 days of hatching and within 21 days of being born.

Stage-3: Adult Louse

Once fully grown the adult louse is approximately the size of a sesame seed, they continue to feed on blood from the scalp and can live for almost 30 days, but will die within 48-hours should they become dislodged and fall from the head. The adult female louse is generally larger than the male louse and can lay up to six eggs per day, that's up to 180 eggs in the lifetime of a female louse.

Below are some more pictures of head lice, for more information about each picture place your mouse over each head lice photo for a short popup description.

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