Dellinger and eric day, department of entomology, virginia tech. Booklice are rarely damaging inside homes and are harmless to people or pets. Order psocodea barklice, booklice, and parasitic lice bugguide. Barklice, booklice or psocids psocoptera springerlink. Psocids are very common and abundant insects, but because of their tiny size, they generally go unnoticed. Characteristics psocids or booklice as they are commonly known are small usually dull coloured insects with a body length of 110 millimetres. Bark lice and psocids are an important food source for native birds and other insecteaters. These are also called barklice, barkflies, booklice, and bark cattle because of the way the coral together.
How to get rid of booklice complete guide pest strategies. Bark lice or psocids are small soft bodied insects which are often seen in groups or tiny herds on the surface of tree bark where they feed on lichens, fungi, and other superficial plant materials. Booklice and their relatives psocoptera utah pests utah state. Received august 8, 1956 the psocids psocoptera are one of the minor orders of insects, with only about 145 species recorded from the united states. Most psocids live outdoors, have wings as adults and are commonly found on or under the bark of trees. This may mean taking items outside to dry in the sun. Thorax the thorax unites to the head with a membranous and flexible neck. Booklice are a small pest that feasts on mold and mildew in humid environments. Psocids generally occur in shades of brown, black, or pale colors. To get rid of booklice, start by throwing out any items that show signs of lice infestation, like books or boxes. However, they may become household pests by flourishing in damp areas of house basements. Psocids, pronounced sohsids, are actually commonly referred to as booklice, or bark lice, although they are not true lice.
The name booklice comes from the fact that they gather on moldy books in damp homes. Psocids bark lice and booklice are now placed with the true lice in the order psocodea. Also, they normally live outdoors in damp places, such as under bark, in grass, leaves and on damp wood. Their name originates from the greek word, psokhos meaning gnawed or rubbed and, ptera meaning wings. Psocoptera are an order of insects that are commonly known as booklice, barklice or barkflies. The insects of the order psocoptera copeognatha, corrodentia are commonly called psocids, although outdoor species living on tree trunks and branches have been called bark lice, whereas indoor species, sometimes found in old books, have been called booklice. Outdoor species are commonly referred to as barklice and are usually winged as adults. Booklice prefer damp, warm, undisturbed situations. When outdoors, psocids are found on tree bark and other foliage as well as under stones and in ground litter. They have chewing mouth parts and the wings of domestic species are usually absent.
They can be found around damp books, leaking pipes, or anywhere mold growth can be supported. Range in size from onetwentyfifth to onethirteenth of an inch. Unless otherwise stated, all species images were taken by the author. If youve got any dried out or decaying plants, you might find these little critters enjoying a plant buffet, or they may even be lurking around your stored food. Species that frequently inhabit homes and other structures are wingless as adults, have extremely flattened bodies and are translucent white to gray in color figure 1, figure 2. Book lice, called psocids, are members of the insect order psocoptera. Booklice feed on mold that grows on damp plaster yep, we got that and glue such as found on book bindings. If you wish to keep any of the infested items, wrap them in a plastic bag, put them in your freezer for 2 days to kill the.
The psocids found indoors are extremely tiny and difficult to see. The establishment of speciesspecific primers for the molecular identification of ten storedproduct psocids based on its2 rdna. Bark lice and psocids hawaii department of land and. The name barklice probably comes from the fact that outdoors they gather under the bark of trees. The term barklice is typically reserved for psocid species that inhabit the bark of trees. The psocids are small, softbodied insects, ranging in color from a translucent white to gray to light brown.
Winged psocids usually live outdoors, primarily on bark and leaves. Bark lice, booklice or psocids psocoptera, figure 11 mechanism of absorption of atmosp heric water. Known as barklice, they are found on tree bark, leaves of trees and shrubs, and under stones. Infestation of packaged food products is uncommon, but booklice can be. Most species are freeliving and not pests, but several species of book lice are found indoors, e. Barklice are often considered beneficial scavengers because they consume. They range in size from 125 to 1 of an inch 1 to 2 mm in length. Booklice arent really lice, theyre tiny insects also called psocids. Psocids or bark lice protective silk webbing spun by psocids over the bark of an oak tree. If you wish to keep any of the infested items, wrap them in a plastic bag, put them in your freezer for 2 days to kill the lice, and then vacuum the dead booklice off of items. Click the psocid image for a link to that bugguide species page. In homes, psocids typically are found in damp, warm, undisturbed places where mold and fungi are growing.
There are over 200 species of psocids in the united states. The largest number of endemic species occurs within the genera ptycta, palistreptus, and kilauella, respectively. Psocids are small, oval insects with soft bodies that usually measure only several millimeters long. Booklice figure 1 belong to a group of insects collectively called psocids so. Pdf the establishment of speciesspecific primers for. Barklice feed on fungi, lichen, pollen, decaying plants, and other organic material. They first appeared in the permian period, 295248 million years. Although they are called lice, the psocoptera are freeliving insects, not parasites. Psocid book lice control new houses are not the only places that have problems with psocids, however. Booklice mostly feed on mold spores, but may also feed on starchy materials. Psocids enjoy warm, humid areas that are especially dark. Chapter 26 the best control for barklice or booklice or. But, they are still bugs and must be dealt with accordingly.
These bugs are tiny about a sixteenth an inch in length and therefore. Booklice and psocids require moisture or high humidity. Below is our handy guide that will tell you everything you need to know about. They can become obvious when they assemble in large numbers. These creatures range in color from translucent white to gray or brown and are very tiny, typically less than 116 of an inch in length when full grown.
Bark lice and psocids are known from all the mhi except for niihau. Bark lice are gregarious and live together underneath layers of silken webbing. Copeognatha and have no popular name in brazil, being known in other countries as book lice, bark lice or psocids. They have long and threadlike antennae that are multisegmented ranging from 1250 segments. Most booklice are found outdoors on or under the bark of trees and shrubs. They first appeared in the permian period, 295248 million years ago. They are weak fliers, flying for short bursts then landing soon after.
My pantry is metal so i threw out all the boxes and bleached the entire pantry and all cans. The rise of psocids to prominence in the last decade can be attributed to their varied response to management tactics that have been developed for beetle pests e. Restricted use pesticides may only be applied by a licensed applicator. Dellinger and eric day, department of entomology, virginia tech description psocids are small, oval insects with soft bodies that usually measure only several millimeters long. United states has more than 100 species of booklice which are pretty harmless to humans and plants. This name has been criticized by many entomologists because the prefix a clear reference to the manner of feeding is unrelated to the suffix the presence of wings. Psocid barklice are chewing insects and they do a stand up job of eating fungus, lichen, algae, broken bark, and other plant debris off of tree trunks. On or under vegetation, bark, rocks or leaf litter. Outdoor species of psocids are winged while most structural infesting species are wingless. They are 1 to 2 millimeters long, and range in color from almost colorless, to gray or light brown. The psocids psocids and the booklice, the winged members of this order have four membranous zvhigs, with the veins prominent bnt zvith comparatively few cross veins. For convenience one can put quotes around it and use the term psocoptera to refer to psocids only. Booklice usually feed on molds, fungi, grains, insect fragments, and other starchy material, including glue from bookbindings.
Psocids, booklice, barklice horticulture and home pest news. The tiny bugs can live outdoors on bark feeding on mosses and lichens and in grass, leaves and damp wood. Book louse, bark louse, deathwatch the primary food of booklice appears to be molds and fungi, and their presence in structures or in food will be caused by excessive moisture and the. Eggs of psocids are laid singly or in clusters and are sometimes covered with silk or debris. They prefer damp areas where the humidity helps foster growth and degradation of their food. Booklice psocids are itsy, bitsy little bugs about 116 long and they are not actually lice at all and are harmless. They become most numerous in houses during spring and summer. All psocids possess silk glands and in some species large webs are formed in which the community lives. Psocids are frequently called booklice or barklice because they share. Nymphs hatching from eggs resemble tiny wingless adults.
They infest food sources, kitchen cupboards and even bathrooms. Order psocodea barklice, booklice, and parasitic lice. Im pretty sure these crawling bits of dust are booklice. They are often regarded as the most primitive of the hemipteroids. The scientific name comes from the greek psocus to grind and pteron wing and refers to the psocopteran jaws, which are shaped to grind food, rather like a pestle and mortar these insects can be conveniently, if somewhat arbitrarily, discussed in two groups, barklice and booklice, based on. The most reliable way to eliminate psocids and moulds is to dehumidify the building and affected objects. Booklice, barklice, moldlice, and dustlice are members of the order psocoptera. When you find psocids on rugs or pieces of furniture, the best control is to lower the humidity, that is, to dry out whatever or wherever these insects have been found.