{"id":4533,"date":"2011-11-30T12:01:21","date_gmt":"2011-11-30T18:01:21","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/uwm.edu\/field-station\/?p=4533"},"modified":"2017-05-22T16:21:24","modified_gmt":"2017-05-22T21:21:24","slug":"barklice","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/uwm.edu\/field-station\/bug-of-the-week\/barklice\/","title":{"rendered":"Barklice (Family Psocidae)"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Howdy, BugFans,<\/p>\n<h3>Barklice<\/h3>\n<p>Most people don\u2019t like aphids, and they get \u201ccreeped out\u201d when they hear the word \u201clice.\u201d Barklice are not related to aphids, though barklouse congregations are sometimes mistaken for aphids. Barklice (family Psocidae) (<em>so-ci-dee<\/em>) are in the same order, Psocodea (<em>so-so-dea<\/em>), as booklice and as the sucking and chewing lice (older references list them as Psycoptera), but the barklouse is a more wholesome-looking bug than its shiftier cousins, and its lifestyle is dramatically different. The BugLady photographed this barklouse (<em>Cerastipsocus venosus<\/em>) (probably) thinking it was some kind of plant bug, but her bug guru, Chris, rode to the rescue once again. It takes a village.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/uwm.edu\/field-station\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/380\/2011\/11\/bark-louse11-1b.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-4537\" src=\"https:\/\/uwm.edu\/field-station\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/380\/2011\/11\/bark-louse11-1b.jpg\" alt=\"bark-louse11-1b\" width=\"500\" height=\"452\" srcset=\"https:\/\/uwm.edu\/field-station\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/380\/2011\/11\/bark-louse11-1b.jpg 500w, https:\/\/uwm.edu\/field-station\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/380\/2011\/11\/bark-louse11-1b-300x271.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 500px) 100vw, 500px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p>Psocodea is a small order of small insects\u2014about 62 species of barklice reside in North America. Barklice are small, chunky, big-headed, \u201cbug-eyed,\u201d long-antennaed insects, many of which have four wings. The front set of wings is longer than the rear set, and the wings are held tent-like over the body at rest. The wings of BLs have very few veins and cross veins, and in <em>Cerastipsocus venosus<\/em>(Cv), these veins are often white. Although they can fly, they prefer to run when disturbed. At about \u00bc\u201d long, <em>Cerastipsocus venosus<\/em> is on the heftier end of the continuum; females tend to be larger than males, and there can be a lot of physical variation within a species.<\/p>\n<p>How can you find one? Cvs are relatively common in the eastern half of the country and are often found on the trunks of smooth-barked trees (<em>Cerastipsocus venosus<\/em> likes the maple family, which includes the box elders). Because many BLs live in leaf litter or under loose tree bark, they generally pass their days unnoticed, as they have done since the Permian Era, some 250 million years ago. The more gregarious species attract notice when a bunch of them gather in a dense \u201cherd\u201d on tree bark, a habit that gives them the names \u201cbark cattle\u201d and \u201ctree cattle.\u201d Other species are web spinners, producing silk in glands in their mouth. They may cover a section of tree trunk with a patch of web or enclose the truck or branches in a silken sheath.<\/p>\n<p>When a young BL\u2019s Fancy turns to Love, it may engage in a courtship dance, after which she accepts a spermatophore (liquid, in the case of <em>Cerastipsocus venosus<\/em>) from him. But many other species of psocids reproduce parthenogenetically, which means that Ms. Psocid needs no assist from Mr. Psocid to produce little Psocids. Reproductively speaking, Cv&#8217;s have an odd chromosome that doesn\u2019t divide like the rest in early meiosis (the BugLady is confident that BugFans remember meiosis and those microscope slides with chromosomes dividing and heading for opposite poles). Half of the secondary spermatocytes, and therefore half of the spermatozoa, down the line, have an extra chromosome. Don\u2019t ask the BugLady why.<\/p>\n<h3>Simple Metamorphosis<\/h3>\n<p>BLs practice Simple (Incomplete) metamorphosis. <a href=\"http:\/\/bugguide.net\/node\/view\/424879\/bgimage\">Bugguide\u00a0has a great picture of the pudgy, striped nymphs<\/a>. Web-spinning BLs deposit their eggs on bark, singly or in bunches, and cover them with a layer of silk. All generations in a colony will live under this shelter briefly and then, apparently, will eat it. Cvs protect their egg clusters with a crust of what several sources delicately call \u201calimentary excretions.\u201d It takes about 6 molts for nymphs to reach adulthood, and they probably overwinter as eggs.<\/p>\n<p>Despite home-owners\u2019 fears when they see a crowd of insects on their trees (eliciting headlines like \u201cTree cattle causing undue concern\u201d), neither the adult nor the immature Cvs eat trees, leaves or even bark. They use their chewing mouthparts to graze on tiny plants like algae and lichens and on molds that grow on the tree bark substrate, or they scavenge on pieces of organic material (<em>detritus<\/em>). To this end, part of a BL\u2019s \u201clower jaw\u201d (<em>maxilla<\/em>) is modified into a rod that the insect uses to brace itself while the \u201cupper jaw\u201d (mandible) is scraping up its food. They are listed as scavengers\/decomposers. Birders please note\u2014one source mentioned that Chimney Swifts catch and eat adults when both are on the wing.<\/p>\n<p>The BugLady is troubled by a website called <a href=\"http:\/\/www.invasive.org\/\"><em>Invasive.org; Center for Invasive Species and Ecosystem Health<\/em><\/a> whose sponsors include several Federal agencies and a few departments of the University of Georgia. Their site comes up on her searches with some frequency, even when the insect she is researching is not considered harmful. There is a page devoted to PL images, but no allegations of damage\u2014even the Exterminator sites say \u201cthese bugs are harmless; if you don\u2019t like the webs, spray them with the hose.\u201d Like Exterminator websites, this site gives even the \u201cneutral\u201d bugs a bad name by association (the BugLady tries not to assign pluses or minuses to bugs).<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<br \/>\n<em>The BugLady<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p><strong>Barklice<\/strong> are small, chunky, big-headed, bug-eyed, long-antennaed insects, many of which have four wings. The front set of wings is longer than the rear set, and the wings are held tent-like over the body at rest. They are relatively common in the eastern half of the country and are often found on the trunks of smooth-barked trees. Because many BLs live in leaf litter or under loose tree bark, they generally pass their days unnoticed, as they have done since the Permian Era, some 250 million years ago.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1070,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":"","uwm_wg_additional_authors":[]},"categories":[8],"tags":[336],"class_list":["post-4533","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-bug-of-the-week","tag-barklice"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO Premium plugin v27.5 (Yoast SEO v27.5) - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-premium-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Field Station<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/uwm.edu\/field-station\/bug-of-the-week\/barklice\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Barklice (Family Psocidae)\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Barklice are small, chunky, big-headed, bug-eyed, long-antennaed insects, many of which have four wings. The front set of wings is longer than the rear set, and the wings are held tent-like over the body at rest. They are relatively common in the eastern half of the country and are often found on the trunks of smooth-barked trees. Because many BLs live in leaf litter or under loose tree bark, they generally pass their days unnoticed, as they have done since the Permian Era, some 250 million years ago.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/uwm.edu\/field-station\/bug-of-the-week\/barklice\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Field Station\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2011-11-30T18:01:21+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2017-05-22T21:21:24+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/uwm.edu\/field-station\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/380\/2011\/11\/bark-louse11-1b.jpg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"4 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/uwm.edu\\\/field-station\\\/bug-of-the-week\\\/barklice\\\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/uwm.edu\\\/field-station\\\/bug-of-the-week\\\/barklice\\\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"\",\"@id\":\"\"},\"headline\":\"Barklice (Family Psocidae)\",\"datePublished\":\"2011-11-30T18:01:21+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2017-05-22T21:21:24+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/uwm.edu\\\/field-station\\\/bug-of-the-week\\\/barklice\\\/\"},\"wordCount\":801,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/uwm.edu\\\/field-station\\\/bug-of-the-week\\\/barklice\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/uwm.edu\\\/field-station\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/sites\\\/380\\\/2011\\\/11\\\/bark-louse11-1b.jpg\",\"keywords\":[\"Barklice\"],\"articleSection\":[\"Bug of the Week\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/uwm.edu\\\/field-station\\\/bug-of-the-week\\\/barklice\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/uwm.edu\\\/field-station\\\/bug-of-the-week\\\/barklice\\\/\",\"name\":\"Barklice (Family Psocidae) - Field Station\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/uwm.edu\\\/field-station\\\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/uwm.edu\\\/field-station\\\/bug-of-the-week\\\/barklice\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/uwm.edu\\\/field-station\\\/bug-of-the-week\\\/barklice\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/uwm.edu\\\/field-station\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/sites\\\/380\\\/2011\\\/11\\\/bark-louse11-1b.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2011-11-30T18:01:21+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2017-05-22T21:21:24+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"\"},\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/uwm.edu\\\/field-station\\\/bug-of-the-week\\\/barklice\\\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/uwm.edu\\\/field-station\\\/bug-of-the-week\\\/barklice\\\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/uwm.edu\\\/field-station\\\/bug-of-the-week\\\/barklice\\\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/uwm.edu\\\/field-station\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/sites\\\/380\\\/2011\\\/11\\\/bark-louse11-1b.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/uwm.edu\\\/field-station\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/sites\\\/380\\\/2011\\\/11\\\/bark-louse11-1b.jpg\"},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/uwm.edu\\\/field-station\\\/bug-of-the-week\\\/barklice\\\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/uwm.edu\\\/field-station\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Bug of the Week\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/uwm.edu\\\/field-station\\\/category\\\/bug-of-the-week\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":3,\"name\":\"Barklice (Family Psocidae)\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/uwm.edu\\\/field-station\\\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/uwm.edu\\\/field-station\\\/\",\"name\":\"Field Station\",\"description\":\"UW-Milwaukee\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\\\/\\\/uwm.edu\\\/field-station\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO Premium plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Field Station","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/uwm.edu\/field-station\/bug-of-the-week\/barklice\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Barklice (Family Psocidae)","og_description":"Barklice are small, chunky, big-headed, bug-eyed, long-antennaed insects, many of which have four wings. The front set of wings is longer than the rear set, and the wings are held tent-like over the body at rest. They are relatively common in the eastern half of the country and are often found on the trunks of smooth-barked trees. Because many BLs live in leaf litter or under loose tree bark, they generally pass their days unnoticed, as they have done since the Permian Era, some 250 million years ago.","og_url":"https:\/\/uwm.edu\/field-station\/bug-of-the-week\/barklice\/","og_site_name":"Field Station","article_published_time":"2011-11-30T18:01:21+00:00","article_modified_time":"2017-05-22T21:21:24+00:00","og_image":[{"url":"https:\/\/uwm.edu\/field-station\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/380\/2011\/11\/bark-louse11-1b.jpg","type":"","width":"","height":""}],"twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"","Est. reading time":"4 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/uwm.edu\/field-station\/bug-of-the-week\/barklice\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/uwm.edu\/field-station\/bug-of-the-week\/barklice\/"},"author":{"name":"","@id":""},"headline":"Barklice (Family Psocidae)","datePublished":"2011-11-30T18:01:21+00:00","dateModified":"2017-05-22T21:21:24+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/uwm.edu\/field-station\/bug-of-the-week\/barklice\/"},"wordCount":801,"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/uwm.edu\/field-station\/bug-of-the-week\/barklice\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/uwm.edu\/field-station\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/380\/2011\/11\/bark-louse11-1b.jpg","keywords":["Barklice"],"articleSection":["Bug of the Week"],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/uwm.edu\/field-station\/bug-of-the-week\/barklice\/","url":"https:\/\/uwm.edu\/field-station\/bug-of-the-week\/barklice\/","name":"Barklice (Family Psocidae) - Field Station","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/uwm.edu\/field-station\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/uwm.edu\/field-station\/bug-of-the-week\/barklice\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/uwm.edu\/field-station\/bug-of-the-week\/barklice\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/uwm.edu\/field-station\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/380\/2011\/11\/bark-louse11-1b.jpg","datePublished":"2011-11-30T18:01:21+00:00","dateModified":"2017-05-22T21:21:24+00:00","author":{"@id":""},"breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/uwm.edu\/field-station\/bug-of-the-week\/barklice\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/uwm.edu\/field-station\/bug-of-the-week\/barklice\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/uwm.edu\/field-station\/bug-of-the-week\/barklice\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/uwm.edu\/field-station\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/380\/2011\/11\/bark-louse11-1b.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/uwm.edu\/field-station\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/380\/2011\/11\/bark-louse11-1b.jpg"},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/uwm.edu\/field-station\/bug-of-the-week\/barklice\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/uwm.edu\/field-station\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Bug of the Week","item":"https:\/\/uwm.edu\/field-station\/category\/bug-of-the-week\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"name":"Barklice (Family Psocidae)"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/uwm.edu\/field-station\/#website","url":"https:\/\/uwm.edu\/field-station\/","name":"Field Station","description":"UW-Milwaukee","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/uwm.edu\/field-station\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":""}]}},"acf":[],"meta_fields":{"_edit_lock":["1495488007:28"],"_edit_last":["28"],"_wp_old_slug":["barklice-family-psocidae"],"_yoast_wpseo_content_score":["30"],"_yoast_wpseo_primary_category":[""],"_yoast_wpseo_is_cornerstone":[""],"_uwm_wg_content_review_log":["a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:11:\"reviewer_id\";i:0;s:6:\"status\";s:5:\"reset\";s:10:\"entry_date\";s:19:\"2026-03-01 02:10:50\";s:16:\"priority_content\";s:0:\"\";s:4:\"note\";s:43:\"Content review reset at start of new cycle.\";}}"]},"publishpress_future_action":{"enabled":false,"date":"2026-06-03 17:37:00","action":"change-status","newStatus":"draft","terms":[],"taxonomy":"category","extraData":[]},"publishpress_future_workflow_manual_trigger":{"enabledWorkflows":[]},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/uwm.edu\/field-station\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4533","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/uwm.edu\/field-station\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/uwm.edu\/field-station\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/uwm.edu\/field-station\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1070"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/uwm.edu\/field-station\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=4533"}],"version-history":[{"count":8,"href":"https:\/\/uwm.edu\/field-station\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4533\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":8116,"href":"https:\/\/uwm.edu\/field-station\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4533\/revisions\/8116"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/uwm.edu\/field-station\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=4533"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/uwm.edu\/field-station\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=4533"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/uwm.edu\/field-station\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=4533"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}