Bark Lice
Psocoptera: Archipsocidae
BENEFICIAL
The adult is a small (1/8 - 1/4inch) active insect, brown to black in color. The long wings are folded above the back like a steeply-pointed roof. The
heads are large relative to the bodies and have large eyes and long antennae.
The nymphs resemble wingless adults. Their round little forms often have circular stripes, looking like they are wearing striped tee-shirts. They will move like a small heard of tiny cattle, up the trunks of trees, grazing on fungi and debris. These tiny insects would attract little attention if it weren't for the webs they sometimes spin on the trunks and branches of trees for a short time during their life-cycle. The gregarious insects live under the layers of silk webbing, eating and reproducing. When the nymphs molt into the adult form, the insects disperse, often taking their webbing with them.
Life Cycle:
Incomplete metamorphosis: egg, nymph, adult. The eggs are laid singly or in clusters of 20-100 on trees or litter. The nymphs go through six molts to reach the adult winged form.
Diet:
The bark lice eat algae, lichen, fungi, and decaying plant debris. They spin a web, clean the tree trunk and branches, dispose of the web and move on. They do no harm to the tree which probably benefits from the attention.
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