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CO LUMBIC OL A C OLU MBAE

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DE PAR TM ENT OF PAR ASITO LO GY

FA CULTY OF VET ERINA RY M ED ICIN E

AIR LAN GG A UNIV ERSITY

2008
 COLUMBICOLA COLUMBAE

FOREWORD

Insects are the main group of six-leg Arthropoda. That is why they also called

Hexapoda. Insects are found almost in all environments, except in ocean. Study about

this object is called entomology.

Because insects have a tough, non-living outer covering or exoskeleton, they

cannot grow steadily, but have to grow in stages by periodically shedding the

exoskeleton. This process is called moulting or ecdysis. The stages between moults

are called instars.

The order Phthiraptera has been traditionally divided into two groups

according to their different feeding habits: the chewing/biting lice or "Mallophaga",

and the Anoplura, colloquially known as the sucking lice. It is commonly assumed

that the order is derived from a primitive Pscopteran-like ancestor which became

parasitic first on birds.

Biting Lice feed mainly on particles of skin, feathers and fur. Some species

take blood, sometimes puncturing the skin with their own jaws, but more often

feeding at small wounds made when the host birds or animals scratch themselves.

Most lice are confined to one host or a group of closely related host species. Some are

of great economic importance when they infest domestic poultry or other livestock,

but none are directly associate with humans.

Chewing lice with their large head and mandibles comprise the largest group

with some 2900 species. These are separable into three distinct superfamilies - the

Amblycera, Ischnocera and Rhyncophthirina.

 Ischnocera confine themselves to feeding on the downy part of feathers and

softer fur.

Columbicola columbae is one species below the super family ischnocera

which has Columbicola as genera. Detail of this species will be discussed in this

paper.

LITERATURE OBSERVATION

CLASSIFICATION

Kingdom : Animalia (animals)

Subkingdom : Bilateria

Phylum : Arthropoda

Subphylum: Hexapoda

Class : Insecta

Order : Phthiraptera

Suborder : Mallopaga (biting lice)

Superfamily : Ischnocera

Family : Philopteridae

Genus : Columbicola

Species : Columbicola columbae

Common name : Slender pigeon louse

MORPHOLOGY

The slender pigeon louse is a long, slender louse with two bladelike hairs near

the front of its head with poorly-developed small eyes, black and brown in color. The

threadlike antennae are five-segmented. They measure 0.078 to 0.12 inches (2 to 3

millimeters) in length.
 HOSPES

As its common name (slender pigeon louse), pigeons are the most common

host of this louse (involved in four species of pigeons).

PREDILECTION

They are found only among the feathers on the upper and lower sides of the

wings (either on the undersurface of the wing coverts or at the base of secondary

feathers)

BEHAVIOR

Slender pigeon lice eat the fluffy parts of the feathers. Its slender shape allows

the louse to live between the feather barbs. The edge of the barb is grasped with the

mandibles and legs, protecting it from the preening activities of the host.

LIFE CYCLE

Females deposit their eggs on the underside of the wing feathers, next to the

pigeon's body. They lay up to 9 eggs per day on the feathers of the host. Eggs are

attached to a feather in the space between feather barbs and hatch between three and

five days at 98.6°F (37°C) The nymph resemble adults and develop through 3 instars

before they reach sexual maturity

Note:

Nymph = the immature stage of certain species of insects. Nymphs usually

resemble their parents but are mostly smaller and lack wings

Instars = refers to one stage of growth between moults, e.g. 3 larval instars (or

growth stages) before an insects pupates. The number of larval instars varies between

insects and may range from 3 to 30

 DISCUSSION

Feather lice are host-specific, permanent ectoparasites of birds that complete

their entire life cycle on the body of the host, where they feed largely on abdominal

contour feather. Species in genus Columbicola, which are parasites of pigeons and

doves, are so specialized for life on feathers that they do not venture onto the host’s

skin.

Clinical sign of pigeon infected by this louse are itch and feather fall.

Transmission between conspecific hosts occurs mainly during periods of direct

contact, like that between parents and their offspring in the nest. Columbicola lice can

also leave the host by attaching to more mobile parasites, such as hippoboscid flies.

Because the flies less specific than the lice, this dispersal route may explain records of

host-specific Columbicola on the wrong host.

Columbicola columbae is only found on four species of pigeons, including the

widely distributed rock dove or city pigeon. Rock doves (and their ectoparasites) live

with humans and have been introduced throughout the world. The distribution of the

slender pigeon louse is thought to match that of the rock dove.

CONCLUSION

Columbicola columbae are host-specific (sometimes can be found on wrong

host cause of the transmission), permanent ectoparasites of pigeons.

Transmission between conspecific hosts occurs mainly during periods of direct

contact, but can also transmit by attaching to more mobile parasites, such as

hippoboscid flies.

Columbicola columbae is only found on four species of pigeons, including the widely

distributed rock dove or city pigeon (the most important species in C. colae

distribution)
 REFERENCES

http://www.bumblebee.org/invertebrates/Mallophaga.htm

http://animals.jrank.org/pages/2416/Chewing-Sucking-Lice-Phthiraptera.html

http://www.answers.com/topic/slender-pigeon-louse

http://zipcodezoo.com/Animals/C/Columbicola_columbae/

http://www.ento.csiro.au/education/glossary.html#parasite

http://www.kendall-bioresearch.co.uk/life.htm

http://www.e-dukasi.net/mol/mo_full.php?moid=78&fname=bio111_19.htm

http://www.ento.csiro.au/aicn/name_s/b_1106.htm

http://tolweb.org/Phthiraptera

http://animaldiversity.ummz.umich.edu/site/accounts/classification/path/Columbi

cola_columbae.html#Columbicola
Chewing and Sucking Lice:
Phthiraptera - Slender Pigeon Louse
(columbicola Columbae): Species
Accounts
Physical characteristics: The slender pigeon louse is a long, slender louse with two
bladelike hairs near the front of its head. The threadlike antennae are five-segmented.
They measure 0.078 to 0.12 inches (2 to 3 millimeters) in length.

Geographic range: This louse is only found on four species of pigeons, including the
widely distributed rock dove or city pigeon. Rock doves (and their ectoparasites) live
with humans and have been introduced throughout the world. The distribution of the
slender pigeon louse is thought to match that of the rock dove.

Habitat: They are found only among the feathers on the upper and lower sides of the
wings of pigeons.

Diet: Slender pigeon lice eat the fluffy parts of the feathers.
The slender pigeon louse is only found on four species of pigeons, including the
widely distributed rock dove or city pigeon. (Kim Taylor/Bruce Coleman Inc.
Reproduced by permission.)
Behavior and reproduction: The slender body of this louse allows it to move in
between the feather barbs. They grab the edges of feather barbs with their jaws to
avoid the preening activities of the host.
Females attach their eggs on the underside of the wing feathers near the pigeon's
body. They hatch in three to five days at 98.6°F (37°C).

Slender pigeon lice and people: They are used as research animals by scientists
studying how animals change over time and how they interact with parasites.

Conservation status: This species is not endangered or threatened. However,

populations present on the Pale-backed Pigeon from Central Asia and the Middle East
should be considered vulnerable, or at high risk of extinction in the wild. ∎

FOR MORE INFORMATION

Books:
Kim, K. C., H. D. Pratt, and C. J. Stojanovich. The Sucking Lice of North America.
University Park: Pennsylvania State University Press, 1986