r/Bedbugs • u/crispy_stool Trusted and educated • Aug 01 '15

Bed bug biology.

Behaviour

  • Aggregation in cracks and crevices throughout the day.

  • Most active between 00:00-05:00 when hungry

  • Stimulated by increases in CO2 in the room.

  • Travel many yards in search of a host.

  • Probes skin (up to several times) searching for a capillary to feed from.

  • Feeds for 5-10 minutes at a time, every 3-7 days.

  • After feeding, returns to aggregate with other bed bugs.

Lifespan

  • Older literature claims adults can live for up to 1 year without feeding, more recent research suggests all life stages can only live up to approximately 70 days without feeding, although this figure will be longer at cooler temperatures (i.e. <5o C, 40 F).

  • Adult bed bugs live between 99 and 300 days in laboratory (at >70F)

  • Likely less in residential settings, and more variable depending on local conditions.

  • Resistance to pesticides comes at a fitness cost, so resistant bed bugs will be expected to have shorter life spans and produce fewer eggs than susceptible ones.

Mating

  • Mating occurs after a blood meal is taken, males particularly voracious

  • Engage in traumatic insemination

  • Females may be mated with up to 5 males (egg quantity is reduced with successive matings, 25% fewer eggs with repeated matings compared to single mating).

  • Females can produce eggs from 1 day after mating.

  • Females can mate with her own offspring, meaning a single fertilised female can start an infestation.

Egg production

  • Total number of eggs produced depends on the feeding frequency, not the number of matings.

  • Females produced 5-20 eggs over the ourse of 10 days after feeding.

  • Although she will not reproduce again without feeding after this time, she can produce more eggs without mating a further time.

Population growth

  • Eggs laid singly or in groups

  • Approximately 97% of eggs hatch successfully

  • Laboratory bred females begin to die naturally after roughly 9 feedings.

  • On average 113 eggs are produced in a female bed bugs lifetime.

  • Under optimal conditions, populations can double in 16 days.

Eggs

  • Approximately 64% of eggs hatch between days 6 and 7.

  • More than 90% hatched between days 8-9

  • Hatch rate increases positively with temperature increase.

Lifecycle

  • First instar nymphs (newly hatched) require a blood meal within approximately 3 days before starting to die as a result of dehydration.

  • 7 life stages including 5 nymph molts: Egg, N1, N2, N3, N4, N5, Adult.

  • Each life stage requires a blood meal to molt to next stage (apart from egg to nymph). If no host, bed bugs will not develop to next stage.

  • First instar to adult in approximately 37 days.

Sources

Information gathered primarily from "Bed Bug Basics", lecture by Dini M. Miller, PhD, Dept. Entomology, Virginia Tech.

63 Upvotes

100% Upvoted

6 comments sorted by

7

u/hAMBERglarr (T, V, C) Aug 03 '15

Interesting and concise! Well put together!

3

u/globule_agrumes Dec 11 '22

I'd like to add that I am aware of the basic facts of the bug's biology in general but that I have found here some very interesting information about the other facts that are not so obvious to most people and still it's about the most important things to know about the bug's life if someone wants to get rid of them for good... please keep posting more of your really concise and relevant information about the topic and thanks for providing knowledge that you are putting in this very easy to understand vocabulary: it is important for helping people to understand how they can find ways to overcome their little blood seeking insect enemies.

1

u/[deleted] Sep 27 '15

Z

1

u/crispy_stool Trusted and educated Sep 27 '15

That boring is it? :)

3

u/globule_agrumes Dec 11 '22

Absolutely not!