Foraging and Communication Ecology of bed bugs, Cimex lectularius L. (Hemiptera: Cimicidae)

Abstract

American Entomologist • Summer 2006 How bed bugs find their hosts and each other is among the least understood aspects of bed bug biology. This has long been identified as a problem (Johnson 1942, Usinger 1966), but despite the efforts of many researchers, relatively little conclusive information has been produced. Much of this can be attributed to the fact that most research on bed bug foraging and communication ecology was done more than 40 years ago, when analytical methods were not as sophisticated as they are today. This contributed to many conflicting results between and within studies. Some studies concluded that bed bugs could not detect a human beyond 3–4 cm away (Kemper 1929, Rivnay 1932), whereas another concluded that they could orient to a human from a distance of 150 cm (Marx 1955). Moreover, some Foraging and Communication Ecology of bed bugs, Cimex lectularius L. (Hemiptera: Cimicidae)