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#52: Bed bugs

Litinsects #52: Bed bugs

I now present every traveler’s worst nightmare... Bed bugs are true bugs from the order HEMIPTERA. They undergo incomplete metamorphosis through multiple nymphal stages and have piercing/sucking mouthparts.

 © Piotr Naskrecki


  • Bed bugs are OBLIGATORY HEMATOPHAGOUS, coming from the Greek „haima“ for “blood” and „phagein“ for “to eat”, meaning they eat blood and in fact can’t survive on anything else!
  • Their saliva contains anticoagulants and painkillers, which is why you are not likely to be woken up by bed bug while they bite you
  • While the “bug” part of the name is accurate (they are true bugs), the “bed” part is not necessarily true, as they may live in furniture as well
  • Each immature stage requires a blood meal within a few days of molting in order to develop into the next stage, or else it starves. But adults can go up to six months without feeding!
  • Bed bugs use carbon dioxide in exhaled breath to find their hosts. They are also attracted to body heat and don’t like the light, making sleeping humans the perfect hosts to feed on
  • These pests have been associated with humans for 4,000 years! They have spread across the globe and can be found basically anywhere humans live

And now I present the craziest bed bug fact of all (prepare to feel slightly uncomfortable)… these insects reproduce exclusively through a behavior called TRAUMATIC INSEMINATION. Males pierce females with a knife-like organ and inject sperm into their body cavities, which then travels through the hemolymph (aka insect blood) to the ovaries for fertilization. These stabbings are not that great for the females (seeing as they result in open wounds and sometimes also immune reactions) but females have evolved special sperm-receptacle organs at the site of insemination, which are thought to reduce trauma and lessen the negative effects of the stabbing. This behavior has even been observed in same-sex and inter-species encounters, males inseminating other males or individuals of another species!

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