Bed Bugs
Common Name
Scientific Name
Bedbugs
Cimex lectularius
Identification:
Adult Bedbugs are oval shaped, flattened, reddish-brown in color, and are about 3/16 to 1/5 of an inch long. After a blood meal their bodies will expand to become more round or swollen, and they will appear more dark red. They have a beaklike mouth sucking parts and small stubby, non-functional wing pads. The nymphs (juveniles) resemble adults just smaller and a lighter color. The eggs are white and 1/32 of an inch long.
Biology:
Female Bedbugs lay 1 to 12 per day, the eggs are deposited on rough surfaces, cracks, or crevices adhered with a sticky substance to help them stay in place. The eggs will hatch within 6 to 17 days, and when the eggs hatch the nymphs emerge and can immediately begin to feed.
Before they molt for the first time they must have a blood meal, once they do this they begin to molt after every blood meal until they reach full maturity, which is usually 5 molts. The time it takes from nymph to full adult depends on temperature, 21 days at 86 degrees F and 120 days at 65 degrees F. This period is also effected by the amount of feedings they are able to have, the nymphs and adults can survive without food for prolonged periods of time. The adult Bedbug can live up to 18 months, and more up to 3 generations can occur each year.
Habits:
Bedbugs are nocturnal and blood-feeders. They prefer humans but also feed on other warm-blooded animals such as, rats, birds, bats, and homeowners pets. During the day they hide in clothes or cloth material, such as bed linens or pillows, box springs and their coverings, floor boards, book cases, night stands, and when the infestation is large, they may even find areas even further from their feeding site; wall hangings and pictures, drapery, cracks in plaster, loosened wall paper, and ceiling moldings. When night comes, the Bedbug will leave its hiding place to find a blood meal, when they first begin to feed, they bite the area and inject the saliva (which causes reactions in some) to help them ingest the blood. After three minutes the Bedbug will be fully engorged with blood, some full grown Bedbugs will feed for 10 to 15 minutes. When they are done feeding they will go back to their hiding place to digest their meal, when they are hungry again they will search for another host, if not the same one.
