Difference Between Fleas and Lice

Lice vs Flees
Lice and flees are both wingless insects but they are truly different in every aspect.

While fleas belong to the order Siphonaptera, Lice come in the order Phthiraptera. The fleas are true parasites that live on the blood of mammals and birds. Whereas some lice species like fleas are parasites sucking blood or feeding on living skin. There are also other lice species that are symbiotic scavengers, which thrive on dead tissues.

When talking of movement, both the Fleas and the Lice move about like a grasshopper. But the difference in their movement is that Lice do not move around as much as Fleas.

The Fleas have laterally compressed body that helps its movement fast through the hairs of the host. They have very long legs, especially the hind pair is well adapted for jumping fast like a grass hopper. It is believed that a flea will jump 130 times its own height. Fleas are commonly associated with pets. The Fleas are known to live in very specific places on the animal body like under the armpits and behind the ears where it is warm.

The lice have a body that is adapted to living in the host for its whole life. They have very stout legs and claws, which help them to cling to the host’s hair and feather.

While the fleas have a flat shape, the lice come in small and oval shape. The two ‘“ fleas and lice also have different colours. The Lice comes in Dark grey and the fleas have normally dark, reddish brown colours. Lice are not known to carry diseases whereas fleas are known to spread disease.

The body of fleas is polished, hard with hairs and short spines directed backwards. The flea body is tough and can withstand any great pressure. Fleas may also bite human beings and it is around the ankles the fleas normally attack.

Though the eggs of both the fleas and lice are oval shaped, the fleas lay white eggs and the Lice lay tan to coffee coloured eggs. But the lice eggs turn white after hatching.

Unlike the fleas, Lice are known to exhibit a remarkable level of host specificity. This means that most of the individual lice will spend their whole life in a single host. When fleas are most commonly found in the pets, Lice are associated with human beings. The most common lice found in human beings are the Head lice.

Summary
1. Fleas belong to the order Siphonaptera. Lice come in the order Phthiraptera.
2. Lice do not move around as much as Fleas.
3. While the fleas have a flat shape, the lice come in small and oval shape.

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