Cimex lectularius: bed bug

Cimex lectularius It happens to be the most common species of bed bug in the world. They are gregarious, blood-sucking insects that feed on blood and are nocturnal. Their body is dorso-ventrally flattened, a characteristic that allows them to get into small cracks and crevices.

Structure

Its mouthparts are of the sucking type, composed of four stylets, covered by the labium.

At the cephalic level they have a pair of short antennae and small compound eyes. The head joins the thorax through a short, imperceptible neck. They have three pairs of moving legs and lack wings.

The abdomen, fused with the thorax, lacks accessory structures. At the level of the fourth uromere, in females, is the paragenital sinus or organ of Ribaga, where males inject sperm.

Feeding

Depending on the size of the nymphs, feeding time varies between 5 and 10 minutes. Adults may take up to 15 minutes; once engorged they can undergo fasting periods of up to 12 months. To feed, each bedbug can bite its host once or several times. In the case of men, this usually occurs during sleeping hours.

Playback

Reproduction is traumatic sexual type, without copulation. The male punctures the female's abdomen with his hypodermic genital parts and inoculates the sperm. These will look for the ovaries using the hemolymph as a means of movement. Multiplication occurs through egg laying.

Structurally, the eggs are small, 1 to 2 millimeters, with an elongated semilunar shape, pearly white color, and apical operculum. The female lays between 200 and 500 eggs throughout her reproductive life.

Metamorphosis

The development includes eggs of 1 to 2 millimeters, a first nymph of 1.5 millimeters, a second nymph of 2 millimeters, a third nymph of 2.5 millimeters, a fourth nymph of 3 millimeters and a fifth nymph of 4.5 millimeters. Adult specimens, both female and male, reach approximately 5.5 millimeters.