Bedbug (Cimex lectularius in Latin). There are about 30 species of bedbugs.
It is one of the insect parasites that have been living in human homes since the earliest times. Bedbugs or cimices are considered to have come from the Mediterranean Basin – the heart of ancient civilizations. References to bedbugs are found in ancient Greek and Roman inscriptions that date back to the 11th century BC. However, bedbugs are not mentioned in artifacts left by Middle Asian people, as these parasites only came there in mid 19th century, supposedly brought by Russian troops during their march to Turkistan. There were no bedbugs in pre-Columbian Americas either; the pests populated the continents together with Old World conquistadors. They have assimilated pretty well and have been pestering local populations so far.
Cimices are not solely human parasites. The insects were also found in bird nests and bat shelters. In nature bedbugs dwell in caves, tree hollows, nests and hollows dug by rodents.
Bedbugs are mostly active at night. This is when they bite humans to suck their blood. However, a really hungry insect can attack his victim in daytime, although usually bedbugs spend the day hidden in furniture pleats, under skirting boards and in bed sheets. Pain and itching from a bedbug’s bite can disturb a person’s sleep. Bedbugs also carry various diseases (although that is not a fully proven fact).
A bedbug is an insect 1.8 to 2.6 in (4.5 to 6.5 mm) long with a roundish, flat, wingless sorrel-colored body covered with thick sorrel hair. Bedbugs have a sharp, unpleasant smell and can make quick, short runs of 3.3 ft per minute. A female bedbug lays eggs in the same shelter where she spends her day, usually 12 eggs a day.
