What is the purpose of...

[God-Raped-Me]

Head Lice and fleas?

Seriously, fleas can carry diseases and may serve as population control, maybe something before viruses? But for the life of me I can not figure out what head lice would do for anything. They live on your head, suck your blood and then die.

I recently learned that mosquitoes were our pollinators before bees and butterflies and what ever else emerged. But really, I can't think or find anything about head lice, like I said fleas the only reason I can see is population control.  

[La La Leprosy]

despite how useful mosquitoes were in the past;
THEY PISS ME OFF!
so much they make me abuse caps lock.
hm :/
anyways, i don't see the point of head lice, either, now that you mention it.  

[ibixch]

Many things that exsist don't have a point. Like living, if you want to generalize. Birth, Life, Death. No point. Well, in my opinion at least.

I'm going to take the humorous route and say head lice exists because someone somewhere obviously enjoys our discomfort.  

[Phaeton 2]

Purpose is arbitrary. As long as their biological traits will allow them to remain as a species, they will stick around. All they need is an unkempt scalp to get some blood.  

[Kalstolyn]

Fun fact: some birds catch ants, crush them, and rub their guts on their feathers because the ph of the ant guts discourages lice from living on the birds.

Oh and lice only like people with good hygiene. They won't live in dirty hair.  

[God-Raped-Me]

I knew I would get generic answers like "what's the point of life?" That is not what I'm asking however. Everything on this planet has a reason for being here, whether it's still a needed reason or not, it at one point had a reason. That is actually why I have mosquitoes as an example, for years before I had wondered why the hell they they came around in the first place, then I learned that they were the only things that could pollinate things. Although now that we have bees and other such insects we the earth doesn't NEED them but they still thrive because they can. This is what I want to know about lice and fleas.

Phaeton, purpose is not arbitrary, if you are using it in the sense I think you are, on this earth. Everything was put here to fill a need for something, and I want to know what that need was. They may not be needed anymore or they may be needed. Regardless, I like knowing the reasoning behind things... not math though, reasoning behind math confuses me!

Edit: Also, it doesn't seem that lice care whether the head is dirty or clean. Lydia had it and I figured that since they don't like dirty scalps I wouldn't wash her hair until they were gone. She put sand galore in her hair and 2 weeks, of daily checking, they were still freaking there!  

[Kalstolyn]

Okay since we obviously all share the same philosophy on life, the universe, and everything, God created head lice just like He created all other life on earth in order to make a sustainable and stable environment for us to live in, so that we can all learn to love Him and ultimately bring about His Kingdom on earth.

Or maybe they just exist because they exist, and there does not have to be a purpose.  

[Saverio C.]

Everything has a purpose in the eco system. The Parasites you dislike serve as a check on animals at the top of the food chain. With the way things work on this planet every animal has a point.  

[Odd Boy Out]

They are just trying to survive. lol No species has a 'purpose' except for humanity. And even then, we create our own purpose.  

[God-Raped-Me]

Thank you Sav!

Odd boy, if that's truly what you believe, either you're very young or very stupid. Regardless I don't even want to bother taking the time to tell you what a bunch of different animals, bugs and parasites do to keep life in check on this planet.

Kal, was there sarcasm in that first bit there? I'm thinking yes.

Back to head lice though, I was thinking maybe we live in symbiosis and they give us something we need, but I have not found anything that they give us other than an itchy scalp! I'm still looking.  

[Taeryyn]

God-Raped-Me

Odd boy, if that's truly what you believe, either you're very young or very stupid. Regardless I don't even want to bother taking the time to tell you what a bunch of different animals, bugs and parasites do to keep life in check on this planet.

He's around the same age as both you and me, and he's far from stupid. There's no need to be a b***h to him just because you're only looking for a certain kind of answer.

neutral  

[Saverio C.]

God-Raped-Me

Back to head lice though, I was thinking maybe we live in symbiosis and they give us something we need, but I have not found anything that they give us other than an itchy scalp! I'm still looking.

They are a parasite so they give nothing, and just take! s**t Fleas even carry illness  

[God-Raped-Me]

Tae that was possibly one of the stupidest things I have ever heard! And the fact that he didn't even bother to try and answer my question pisses me off, not only that I can be a b***h who whom ever I want as long as I'm ready for said consequences. I supposed the word I should be using instead of purpose is niche. What is the niche that they fill? Everything has, did, or will fill a niche. That niche is what I want to know about.

Edit: Also, if I wanted to be really bitchy I would have out right said you're a stupid a** and to get the ******** out. But I didn't because I actually wanted to give him a chance to try and understand what I'm saying. Then again perhaps he's not the type to believe that everything has a roll to fill in this world in which case he should have stated "I believe that..." but he didn't he stated it as fact.

Sav there must be a reason for them though, Maybe perhaps once upon a time they ate s**t... but discovered that blood was more nutritious for them and started eating that instead.  

[Saverio C.]

The whole purpose of evolution is to give yourself the better chance of survival. What better why to survive then to no be eaten? They don't have to help anything else out in the eco system, they just have to keep them selves alive  

[God-Raped-Me]

You know, I never even thought of this, but maybe something eats their poo to live, or maybe the old egg sacs. I forgot that we don't see what benefit they have to the world, and that there are things so incredibly small that we would never be able to see what head lice are able to do for them.

Still... I ******** hate them! And I still want to know what others think their niche could be.