Microbe:

   Kingdom      Common name        Scientific name

   Animal
   Arthropod    (Crab) louse       Phthirus pubis
                (plural = lice)

  35 mm Slide -  
          Louse holding on to (pubic) hair.  The louse 
     swings by the hair of its human host and has up 
     to 10 blood meals each day.
     These bites are itchy.

     Where is the louse found?
          On moist regions on humans 
     
     Different types of lice infect different areas;
          This one infects the genital region.

     How does the louse get on to humans?
          It moves from one to another under conditions
     such as war, famine, or other social unrest when
     people are living under crowded conditions and poor
     hygiene.
     

     How do you identify the louse?
          Pick it out with tweezers or a tiny comb and
     examine its anatomy using a magnifying glass or
     microscope.
     
     The louse can be up to 2 mm long.
              Female 
              Male

     How does the louse reproduce?
          The female louse lays eggs called nits.
    
     How do you get rid of them?
          Comb them out.
          Then spinkle a powder called malathion which will
          make certain that the eggs do not "hatch,"
          stopping the life cycle.

Microscope Slide - available; examine under 10X and 40X
                   magnification with a light microscope.

     The louse is dead.  The slide is encased in plastic
     so that no eggs can get on you.
      
Miscellaneous Information: 
     Sometimes when people are not feeling well they say
     that they feel lousy.  Lousy really means "full of
     lice".  Usually, that is not what is meant!

     Small details are somtimes referred to as "nitpicks".
     Sometimes if a person does someting foolish, he/she is 
     referred to as a "nitwit" - having a brain the size
     of a louse's egg.