Common Bed Bug (NPS National Capital Region True Bugs)

Common Bed Bug

Cimex lectularius

Summary ⁷

Bed bugs are parasitic insects of the cimicid family that feed exclusively on blood. The term most commonly refers to members of the genus Cimex of which Cimex lectularius, the common bed bug, is the best known as it prefers to feed on human blood although other Cimex species are specialized to other animals, e.g., bat bugs, Cimex pipistrelli (Europe), Cimex pilosellus (western US), and Cimex adjunctus (entire eastern US).

Habitat ⁸

Cimex lectularius is common in both tropical and temperate habitats. Temperature is important in their lives; hatching, nymphal development, and adult activity all occur between 13 and 15 degrees celsius.

Habitat Regions: temperate ; tropical ; terrestrial

Terrestrial Biomes: taiga ; desert or dune ; savanna or grassland ; chaparral ; forest ; rainforest ; scrub forest

Other Habitat Features: urban ; suburban ; agricultural

Sources and Credits

(c) Rick, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC-SA), http://www.flickr.com/photos/27324279@N05/5101091097
Piotr Naskrecki, no known copyright restrictions (public domain), https://phil.cdc.gov/PHIL_Images/9819/9819_lores.jpg
(c) Stanislav Krejčík, some rights reserved (CC BY), https://www.biolib.cz/IMG/GAL/17539.jpg
Janice Haney Carr, no known copyright restrictions (public domain), https://phil.cdc.gov/PHIL_Images/11734/11734_lores.jpg
Janice Haney Carr, no known copyright restrictions (public domain), https://phil.cdc.gov/PHIL_Images/11733/11733_lores.jpg
Janice Haney Carr, no known copyright restrictions (public domain), https://phil.cdc.gov/PHIL_Images/11732/11732_lores.jpg
(c) Wikipedia, some rights reserved (CC BY-SA), http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cimex_lectularius
(c) The Regents of the University of Michigan and its licensors, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC-SA), http://eol.org/data_objects/31386488

More Info

Range Map

iNat Map

‹ › ×