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==Life and behavior==

==Life and behavior==

Bedbugs begin as eggs, with the mother, who is hypodermically impregnated by the male, 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 milky white, approximately 1 millimeter 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 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 eggs are sticky, and able to adhere to most anything, and are milky white, approximately 1 millimeter 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>  

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>  

Males will mate with females much more often than the females require to stay fertile, 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>

 

Although bed bugs have the ability to drink water through their proboscis, they appear to do so rather sparingly, and as long as a host is available on occasion for blood feeding, the species evidences that it is well adapted to survive the water balance challenges encountered in most human dwellings.<ref>http://www.ajtmh.org/cgi/reprint/76/5/987.pdf</ref>

Adult bedbugs have been reported to be able to live up 18 months without feeding. The original source of this 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>

Adult bedbugs have been reported to be able to live up 18 months without feeding. The original source of this 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>

When bedbugs bite, like mosquitoes, they inject an anesthetic that prevents the host from feeling the bite, and an anticoagulant for blood flow. Bedbugs are normatively nocturnal, though they can bite during the day or with light, but they usually occur while people are sleeping, usually when the host is in their deepest part of sleep, most typically 3-5AM.Feeding takes three to 15 minutes, depending on maturity, and immediately after feeding the bug crawls off  to digest their meal in a safe place.  The bite sites are usually small, pinprick-sized lesions that may or may not become inflamed, though often the human host finds that they itch. Bite marks can be random or in a straight line.<ref>http://www.cdc.gov/nceh/ehs/Publications/Bed_Bugs_CDC-EPA_Statement.htm</ref><ref>[http://www.michigan.gov/documents/emergingdiseases/Bed_Bug_Manual_v1_full_reduce_326605_7.pdf MICHIGAN MANUAL FOR THE PREVENTION AND CONTROL OF BED BUGS]</ref>

When bedbugs bite, like mosquitoes, they inject an anesthetic that prevents the host from feeling the bite, and an anticoagulant for blood flow. Bedbugs are normatively nocturnal, though they can bite during the day or with light, but they usually occur while people are sleeping, usually when the host is in their deepest part of sleep, most typically 3-5AM.Feeding takes three to 15 minutes, depending on maturity, and immediately after feeding the bug crawls off  to digest their meal in a safe place.  The bite sites are usually small, pinprick-sized lesions that may or may not become inflamed, though often the human host finds that they itch. Bite marks can be random or in a straight line.<ref>http://www.cdc.gov/nceh/ehs/Publications/Bed_Bugs_CDC-EPA_Statement.htm</ref><ref>[http://www.michigan.gov/documents/emergingdiseases/Bed_Bug_Manual_v1_full_reduce_326605_7.pdf MICHIGAN MANUAL FOR THE PREVENTION AND CONTROL OF BED BUGS]</ref>

Bedbugs do not have nests like ants or bees, but do tend to congregate in habitual hiding places. They are attracted by the carbon dioxide and (secondarily) the heat and that a people generates, and they will feed only through a membrane.<ref>[http://www.faqs.org/periodicals/201006/2054573271.html ''Bed Bugs: The Pesticide Dilemma'']</ref> Bedbugs can travel over 100 feet in one night, but they tend to live within 8 feet of where people sleep. They appear to have an affinity for wood and fabric more so than metal or plastic. Bedbugs hide during the day in such places as mattresses seams, box springs, bed frames and headboards, dresser tables, cracks or crevices, baseboards, behind wallpaper, and under any clothes, clutter or objects around a bed. Their small flat bodies allow them to fit into the smallest of spaces and they can remain in place for long periods of time, even without a blood meal. Bedbugs are easily and usually transported from place to place by people as they travel, and eggs and instar nymphs are especially hard to detect.   

Bedbugs do not have nests like ants or bees, but do tend to congregate in habitual hiding places. They are attracted by the carbon dioxide and (secondarily) the heat and that a people generates, and they will feed only through a membrane.<ref>[http://www.faqs.org/periodicals/201006/2054573271.html ''Bed Bugs: The Pesticide Dilemma'']</ref> Bedbugs can travel at the rate of 3 feet per minute and 100 feet in one night, but they tend to live within 8 feet of where people sleep. They appear to have an affinity for wood and fabric more so than metal or plastic. Bedbugs hide during the day in such places as mattresses seams, box springs, bed frames and headboards, dresser tables, cracks or crevices, baseboards, behind wallpaper, and under any clothes, clutter or objects around a bed. Their small flat bodies allow them to fit into the smallest of spaces and they can remain in place for long periods of time, even without a blood meal. Bedbugs are easily and usually transported from place to place by people as they travel, and eggs and instar nymphs are especially hard to detect.   

In addition to bits, bedbugs are made evident by areas are marked by dark spotting and staining, which is the dried blood excrement of the bugs. Dark spots of dried bed bug excrement are often present along mattress seams or wherever the bugs have resided. Also present are eggs and eggshells, the brownish molted skins of maturing nymphs and the bugs themselves, though these may be hidden more deeply. Less often one may see rusty or reddish blood smears on bed sheets or mattresses from crushing an engorged bed bug. Some companies are beginning to use canines for detecting infestations, which, if properly trained, can be very effective.<ref>[http://www.ca.uky.edu/entomology/entfacts/ef636.asp BED BUGS]</ref>

In addition to bits, bedbugs are made evident by areas are marked by dark spotting and staining, which is the dried blood excrement of the bugs. Dark spots of dried bed bug excrement are often present along mattress seams or wherever the bugs have resided. Also present are eggs and eggshells, the brownish molted skins of maturing nymphs and the bugs themselves, though these may be hidden more deeply. Less often one may see rusty or reddish blood smears on bed sheets or mattresses from crushing an engorged bed bug. Some companies are beginning to use canines for detecting infestations, which, if properly trained, can be very effective.<ref>[http://www.ca.uky.edu/entomology/entfacts/ef636.asp BED BUGS]</ref>

Bed bugs are remarkably resistant in almost every sense of the word, and are comfortable within all but the extremes of most inhabitable climates. They can survive freezing temperatures (32°F) for days and tolerate much lower temperatures (5°F) for short periods. Their upper lethal temperature is 120°F causing death within minutes, but longer exposures to temperatures above 113°F are also lethal. They have a wide humidity tolerance range but tolerate dry climates better than humid.<ref> http://www.michigan.gov/documents/emergingdiseases/Bed_Bug_Manual_v1_full_reduce_326605_7.pdf</ref>

Cold temperatures below 55 degrees stop bed bug development and egg production,<ref>http://www.bedbugsite.com/faq.php</ref> however, bed bugs are remarkably resistant in almost every sense of the word, and are comfortable within all but the extremes of most inhabitable climates. They can survive freezing temperatures (32°F) for days and tolerate much lower temperatures (5°F) for short periods. Their upper lethal temperature is 120°F causing death within minutes, but longer exposures to temperatures above 113°F are also lethal. They have a wide humidity tolerance range but tolerate dry climates better than humid.<ref> http://www.michigan.gov/documents/emergingdiseases/Bed_Bug_Manual_v1_full_reduce_326605_7.pdf</ref>

As bedbugs become active when sensing human presence, in the 1960s the US Army considered them for use in a portable insect ambush detector or a stationary intrusion detector device.<ref>http://handle.dtic.mil/100.2/AD837100</ref>

As bedbugs become active when sensing human presence, in the 1960s the US Army considered them for use in a portable insect ambush detector or a stationary intrusion detector device.<ref>http://handle.dtic.mil/100.2/AD837100</ref>