BED BUGS
Common Bed Bug's Scientific Name: Cimex Lectularius
WHERE DO BED BUGS LIVE?
Bed bugs live where there is a steady flow of human activity. Some examples could be a hotel, apartment, house, or school.
HOW DOES A BED BUG FEED?
Bed bugs usually feed when a person is sleeping. They come out at night and crawl onto you. They then latch down and suck out your nutrient rich blood.
HOW DOES A BED BUG REPRODUCE?
Bed bugs mate in a bizarre process called traumatic insemination. Instead of using the genital tract, the male pierces the female's abdomen with his genitalia and injects his sperm through a wound in the abdominal cavity. The sperm migrates through her abdominal fluid until it reaches her ovaries.
WHAT HOST DOES A BED BUG PREFER?
Bed bugs feed on many different animals, but they prefer to feed on humans.
WHAT ARE SOME SPECIAL ADAPTATIONS OF BED BUGS?
Bed bugs have a elongated proboscis , which numbs the skin so the victim does not feel any pain when the parasite latches on. Bed bugs' bodies are also flat before they feed. This allows them to hide and fit into smaller places to avoid being detected by possible prey.
WHAT IS THE SIZE OF A BABY AND ADULT BED BUG?
Adult bed bugs can reach a size of about 1/4 inch long. Nymphs range from 1.3 mm to 4-5 mm.
OTHER INTERESTING FACTS
1. A bed bug can survive for up to 15 months without feeding on you or any other blood source.
2.Bed bugs can lay between one to five eggs per day and over 500 in a lifetime.
3.The Bed Bug has six life stages broke up into 5 nymph stages and the final adult stage. At each stage the parasite gets gradually bigger.
2.Bed bugs can lay between one to five eggs per day and over 500 in a lifetime.
3.The Bed Bug has six life stages broke up into 5 nymph stages and the final adult stage. At each stage the parasite gets gradually bigger.
CITATIONS
- TEN-FACTS.COM
- EPA.GOV
- MAYOCLINIC.COM