| | ===Reproduction, development and longetivity=== | | ===Reproduction, development and longetivity=== |
| − | 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 then 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. 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 then 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> |
| | 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> |