Abstract
The global population growth of the bed bug, Cimex lectularius (L.), is attributed to their cryptic behavior, diverse insecticide resistance mechanisms, and lack of public awareness. Bed bug control can be challenging and typically requires chemical and non-chemical treatments. One common non-chemical method for bed bug management is thermal remediation. However, in certain instances, bed bugs are known to survive heat treatments. Bed bugs may be present after a heat treatment due to (i) abiotic factors associated with the inability to achieve lethal temperatures in harborage areas for a sufficient time period, (ii) re-infestation from insects that escaped to cooler areas during a heat treatment or (iii) development of physiological resistance that allows them to survive heat exposure. Previous research has investigated the optimal temperature and exposure time required for either achieving complete mortality or sublethally affecting their growth and development. However, no research has examined bed bug populations for their ability to develop resistance to heat exposure and variation in thermo-tolerance between different bed bug strains. The goals of this study were: i) to determine if bed bugs could be selected for heat resistance under a laboratory selection regime, and ii) to determine if bed bug populations with various heat exposure histories, insecticide resistance profiles, and geographic origins have differential temperature tolerances using two heat exposure techniques (step-function and ramp-function). Selection experiments found an initial increase in bed bug survivorship; however, survivorship did not increase past the fourth generation. Sublethal exposure to heat significantly reduced bed bug feeding and, in some cases, inhibited development. The step-function exposure technique revealed non-significant variation in heat tolerance between populations and the ramp-function exposure technique provided similar results. Based on these study outcomes, the ability of bed bugs to develop heat resistance appears to be limited.
Highlights
Of the ~100 species of blood feeding parasitic pests within the family Cimicidae, only the bed bug, Cimex lectularius (L.), and the tropical bed bug, Cimex hemipterus (F.), are associated with the recent global population resurgence [1, 2, 3]
For conducting selection experiments, the lower fiducial limit of the LT75 estimate (i.e., 17.45 mins) was used after performing empirical mortality validation tests, which showed that 17.45 min exposure caused ~75% mortality (Figure A in S1 File)
In comparison to other control strategies such as the use of insecticides, how bed bug populations respond to thermal challenges has been less studied
Summary
Of the ~100 species of blood feeding parasitic pests within the family Cimicidae, only the bed bug, Cimex lectularius (L.), and the tropical bed bug, Cimex hemipterus (F.), are associated with the recent global population resurgence [1, 2, 3]. The funders had no role in study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript
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