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==Life and behavior==

==Life and behavior==

Bedbugs begin as eggs, with the mother being able to birth hundreds, averaging 3-5 eggs but up to twelve eggs per day. The eggs are sticky, and able to adhere to most anything, and are yellowish-white, approximately 1 millimeter (1/25 inch) in length (a little larger than a speck of dust) and are covered with a protective layer, so that immersion in water does not kill them as would adult bedbugs. Once born, the bedbug will go through five growth (molting) stages (shedding the exoskeleton) as ''nymphs''---- each nymphal stage requiring a blood meal and each time shedding its skin ---- before it becomes an adult, and able to reproduce. After hatching the color of the bedbug is like that of straw and no bigger than a pinhead, and which begin to feed immediately. A second stage nymph is about the size of apple seed, and as it fills itself with blood then its color goes from white to bright red. Nymphal stages last from about 4 days to 24 days based on temperature and other environmental conditions. In ideal temperatures (about 70-90 F), the bugs go from birth to adulthood in a month to six weeks. Adults are approximately 3/16-inch long and reddish-brown, with oval, flattened bodies. Adults may feed many times throughout their lifespan, every 3-7 days varying with temperature and other factors.  

Bedbugs begin as eggs, with the mother being able to birth hundreds, averaging 3-5 eggs but up to twelve eggs per day. The female bed bug lays her eggs in cracks and crevices in the vicinity of the host and cements them firmly in position. The total number of eggs which may be laid by one frequently-feed (approximately twice a week) female at 77°F,  is estimated at about 345.<ref>[http://www.google.com/url?sa=t&source=web&cd=6&ved=0CEgQFjAF&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.stephentvedten.com%2F18_Bed_Bugs.pdf&ei=o7DkTLWOIIGBlAf0tLW-CQ&usg=AFQjCNGPkGFo2XVKR8gyNsJSixC1UybqDw&sig2=88mOnHvsosbL2UrImkagMQ ''The Best Control or Bed Bugs']', cp. 18</ref> The eggs are sticky, and able to adhere to most anything, and are yellowish-white, approximately 1 millimeter (1/25 inch) in length (a little larger than a speck of dust) and are covered with a protective layer, so that immersion in water does not kill them as would adult bedbugs. Once born, the bedbug will go through five growth (molting) stages (shedding the exoskeleton) as ''nymphs''---- each nymphal stage requiring a blood meal and each time shedding its skin ---- before it becomes an adult, and able to reproduce. After hatching the color of the bedbug is like that of straw and no bigger than a pinhead, and which begin to feed immediately. A second stage nymph is about the size of apple seed, and as it fills itself with blood then its color goes from white to bright red. Nymphal stages last from about 4 days to 24 days based on temperature and other environmental conditions. In ideal temperatures (about 70-90°F), the bugs go from birth to adulthood in a month to six weeks. Adults are approximately 3/16-inch long and reddish-brown, with oval, flattened bodies. Adults may feed many times throughout their lifespan, every 3-7 days varying with temperature and other factors.  

Cooler temperatures and less blood meals will slow bedbug development down, but will not kill it , as adult bedbugs can survive without feeding for over a year in temperatures around 50°F, and the nymphs can survive for many months. It is thus that immediate and comprehensive action is critical for elimination of bedbugs.<ref>http://www.bedbugbattleplan.com/content/view/19/35/ The Life Cycle of the Bed Bug</ref> However, one report showed that a pesticide-resistant strain from Richmond, Va. only lived a maximum of two months without feeding.<ref>Science News, ''Do-it-yourself bed-bug detector'', January 16th, 2010 </ref>  

Cooler temperatures and less blood meals will slow bedbug development down, but will not kill it , as adult bedbugs can survive without feeding for over a year in temperatures around 50°F, and the nymphs can survive for 3 months. In the laboratory at 10% humidity and 44° Fahrenheit, bed bugs have survived as long as 560 days without a blood meal. It is thus that immediate and comprehensive action is critical for elimination of bedbugs.<ref>http://www.bedbugbattleplan.com/content/view/19/35/ The Life Cycle of the Bed Bug</ref> The original source of this figure appears to  be a study from A.W Bacot in 1914, in which he reported that "After a single meal one newly hatched bug out of three lived for 270 days; while, out of 30 immature bugs in various stages of development, 7 were living and able to feed after a fast of 18 months."<ref>http://newyorkvsbedbugs.org/2009/08/18/they-are-also-able-to-withstand-chilling-thawing-rechilling-and-again-thawing/</ref>However, one report showed that a pesticide-resistant strain from Richmond, Va. only lived a maximum of two months without feeding.<ref>Science News, ''Do-it-yourself bed-bug detector'', January 16th, 2010 </ref><ref>[http://www.google.com/url?sa=t&source=web&cd=11&ved=0CGgQFjAK&url=http%3A%2F%2Fbug-a-pest.com%2FBedbug.pdf&ei=dEHrTIGYEYT6lwemsuWzAQ&usg=AFQjCNESyL05Zs-pznn7BS5YX0sdBoGfEA&sig2=MASfEUv5GuJhE-wzvujHFg BASF-406-Bed Bug Profile:Layout 1]</ref>  

Male bed bugs grab and attempt to mate with any other bedbug that has had a full meal of blood recently, using its hypodermic reproductive appendage, resulting in "“traumatic insemination."  Females grow a mass of the kinds of cells associated with immune defense in the  the abdominal area most commonly pierced by the male. Male bedbugs lack this, and when [[homosexual]] mating attempts are made upon a male the victim releases a blend of chemicals known as the bed bug alarm [[pheromone]]. This recent discovery has resulted in some bedbug insecticides containing the pheromone. <ref>''Scent of alarm identifies male bed bugs,'' Science news, November 21st, 2009; Vol.176 #11</ref>  Bedbugs also release this substance when they are frightened, the smell of which has been described as a sickening sweet odor or as rotting raspberries.<ref>''The Best Control or Bed Bugs'', cp. 18</ref> Bedbugs in an all-male confinement experiment had reduced longevity compared to singly held males.<ref>The Association for the Study of Animal Behaviour, Volume 78, Issue 6, December 2009, Pages 1471-1475</ref>  

 

Male bed bugs grab and attempt to mate with any other bedbug that has had a full meal of blood recently, using its hypodermic reproductive appendage, resulting in "“traumatic insemination."  Females grow a mass of the kinds of cells associated with immune defense in the  the abdominal area most commonly pierced by the male. Male bedbugs lack this, and when [[homosexual]] mating attempts are made upon a male the victim releases a blend of chemicals known as the bed bug alarm [[pheromone]]. This recent discovery has resulted in some bedbug insecticides containing the pheromone. <ref>''Scent of alarm identifies male bed bugs,'' Science news, November 21st, 2009; Vol.176 #11</ref> Bedbugs in an all-male confinement experiment had reduced longevity compared to singly held males.<ref>The Association for the Study of Animal Behaviour, Volume 78, Issue 6, December 2009, Pages 1471-1475</ref>  

Males will mate with females much more often (roughly 20 times more) than necessary for fertilization of eggs and as a result the females live about 25% less long than they would otherwise.<ref>http://newyorkvsbedbugs.org/2010/02/16/laundry-and-the-motivating-power-of-the-bed-bug-web-qa-with-richard-naylor/</ref>

Males will mate with females much more often (roughly 20 times more) than necessary for fertilization of eggs and as a result the females live about 25% less long than they would otherwise.<ref>http://newyorkvsbedbugs.org/2010/02/16/laundry-and-the-motivating-power-of-the-bed-bug-web-qa-with-richard-naylor/</ref>