Warthog louse
The warthog louse, scientifically known as *Haematomyzus hopkinsi*, is a parasitic insect that exclusively inhabits the skin of warthogs. This louse feeds on the host's skin flakes, blood, and other bodily fluids, making it a specialized parasite among the world’s approximately 3,150 lice species. Characterized by its flat, oval-shaped abdomen and six short legs, the warthog louse typically reaches up to two millimeters in length and possesses long, pointed mouthparts called a rostrum for feeding. Its strong claws anchor it to the warthog's hair, while it relies on the animal's scent and body heat to locate its host.
Warthog lice reproduce by laying clumps of eggs in the host's hair, using a fast-drying cement to secure them. The lifecycle of a louse includes hatching from a hard shell, with young lice emerging after a few days and growing into adults over several days. While typically living about 35 days when attached to a host, warthog lice cannot survive long periods without food and can only move to new hosts under specific conditions, such as contact between warthogs or being carried by environmental factors like wind or flies. In wild settings, the warthog can only manage an infestation by rolling on the ground, but zookeepers may provide baths to eliminate these pests.
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Warthog louse
This species of insect is a parasite only on warthogs. As a parasite, it lives on the skin of a warthog and feeds on flakes of skin, blood, and other fluids which the skin contains. The warthog louse is related to the elephant louse and the bush pig louse.
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Uniramia
Class: Insecta
Order: Psocodea
Family: Haematomyzidae
Genus: Haematomyzus
Species: Hopkinsi
Warthog lice are one of three species of the genus Haematomyzus, along with elephant lice and bush pig lice. Like other species of lice, this louse is a parasitic insect. It makes it home amid the hairs on the skin of the warthog. It is one of the world's 3,150 species of lice that make their homes in the fur, feathers, and hair of animals, birds, and people.
The warthog louse may reach two millimeters in length from its head to the tip of its abdomen, or the large, lower part of its body. The abdomen is flat, long, and oval-shaped with ring-like segments and many short sensory hairs for detecting its surroundings. It may be brown, white, or yellow. Ahead of its abdomen is the thorax, or mid-body section, with six short legs. In front of the thorax is the small head with its pair of short but sensitive antennae.
This insect is a parasite. A parasite is an animal or plant which lives inside or on the surface of another animal or plant, called a host. The parasite survives by feeding on some part of the host's body, its blood or other fluids, or waste products. The claw on each of the warthog louse's six legs anchors it firmly to the hairs on the warthog's body while the louse feeds.
The warthog louse has long, pointed mouthparts called a rostrum. The louse bores its rostrum into the tough, thick skin of its host. Its diet is flakes of skin which it bites and blood and other bodily fluids which it drinks. It does not leave the warthog unless the warthog dies, and a louse may survive only 12 hours or live for two or three days without a meal.
Like other species of lice that live only on one or two species of hosts, the warthog louse lives only on warthogs. It is not able to move from one warthog to another unless a fly or the wind carries it, or unless the two warthogs are in contact with each other. The louse's strong legs hold tightly to the hair, but they are not strong enough to jump, and the louse does not have wings to fly. The louse knows a warthog host by its odor and is guided to it by the heat radiating from its body.
A warthog in the wild in Africa typically cannot get rid of a louse except by rolling on the ground to crush it. It cannot easily drown the louse, since the louse is able to survive underwater for one to two days. Zookeepers may give a warthog a special bath to kill the louse.
A female louse lays clumps of eggs in the hair on the warthog's body. She produces a hard, fast-drying cement to attach her eggs firmly so they do not fall off the warthog. After several days, the young hatch from their hard shells. Each young louse makes a small hole in the top of its shell and breathes in air. This air passes out its anus, or rear end, and forms an air pocket between the louse and the bottom of the shell. When the pressure of the air pocket reaches a certain level, the top of the shell bursts open, and the young louse crawls out. It molts, or sheds its skin, over the next several days before becoming an adult. Warthog lice can live for about 35 days if they remain attached to their host.
Bibliography
Gomez, Pablo. “Haematomyzus Elephantis.” Animal Diversity Web, animaldiversity.org/accounts/Haematomyzus‗elephantis/. Accessed 20 May 2024.
Mullen, GR. “Lice.” Encyclopedia of Arkansas, 19 February 2020, encyclopediaofarkansas.net/entries/lice-12304/. Accessed 20 May 2024.
Shao, R., et al. "Fragmented Mitochondrial Genomes in Two Suborders of Parasitic Lice of Eutherian Mammals (Anoplura and Rhynchophthirina, Insecta)." Scientific Reports, vol. 5, no. 17389, 30 Nov. 2015. doi.org/10.1038/srep17389. Accessed 20 May 2024.