How much blood does a bedbug drink? - briefly
A single adult bedbug ingests about 5 µL (0.005 mL) of blood per feeding, less than 0.01 % of its body mass. Across its lifespan, total consumption rarely exceeds a few milliliters.
How much blood does a bedbug drink? - in detail
A single adult bed bug typically ingests between 0.2 and 0.5 µL of blood per meal. This volume represents roughly 5–10 % of the insect’s body mass, allowing rapid weight gain after a feeding bout. Nymphs consume proportionally less, usually 0.1–0.3 µL, depending on their developmental stage.
The total amount taken over a life span varies with feeding frequency, temperature, and host availability. In optimal conditions (≈ 27 °C, regular blood access), an adult may feed every 4–7 days. Assuming an average intake of 0.35 µL per feed and 30 feeds over a 6‑month adult period, the cumulative volume reaches approximately 10 µL, equivalent to about one‑tenth of a milliliter.
Key factors influencing intake:
- Host blood temperature – warmer blood reduces the time needed to fill the abdomen, slightly decreasing volume per bite.
- Feeding duration – bed bugs typically spend 5–10 minutes attached; prolonged attachment can increase the volume by up to 20 %.
- Physiological state – gravid females ingest larger meals (up to 0.6 µL) to support egg production.
Measurement methods include microscopic weighing before and after feeding, and microcapillary collection of expelled blood. Both techniques consistently report the sub‑microliter range described above.
In summary, each feeding delivers a fraction of a microliter, and the aggregate consumption across an adult’s life remains well below one milliliter. This modest intake sustains the insect’s metabolic needs while enabling rapid population growth under favorable conditions.