Species Cimex lectularius - Common Bed Bug

Cimex lectularius Linnaeus 1758

5-9.5 mm

in C. hemipterus prothorax is less expanded laterally, and margins are less flattened; in bat bugs (several spp.) the pronotal fringe hairs are as long or longer than width of eye

cosmopolitan - Map (1)(2)

year-round

blood-feeding parasites of humans, chickens, bats and occasionally domesticated animals (Usinger 1966).

Has a symbiotic relationship with Wolbachia, a proteobacteria, that assist in providing the insect with sufficient amino acids.(3)

multiple generations per year; mating occurs off the host and involves a unique form of copulation called ‘traumatic insemination’ whereby the male penetrates the female’s abdominal wall with his external genitalia and ejaculates into her body cavity. Adults live 6-12 months and may survive long periods without feeding.

Introduced from Europe by early colonists. Suspected, but never proven, of transmitting 41 human disease organisms(1); may be naturally infected with several blood-borne pathogens, but is not effective as vector

Usinger RL. 1966. Monograph of Cimicidae (Hemiptera - Heteroptera). Entomological Society of America, College Park, Maryland.

Featured Creatures (Brooks 2014)(4)