What do bedbugs eat and how long do they live? - briefly
Bedbugs survive by piercing the skin of humans or other warm‑blooded hosts to ingest blood. An adult can live from several months up to a year, enduring long periods without feeding.
What do bedbugs eat and how long do they live? - in detail
Bedbugs (Cimex lectularius) survive exclusively on the blood of warm‑blooded animals. Human blood provides the nutrients required for growth, reproduction and metabolism. Occasionally they will feed on other mammals or birds when humans are unavailable, but the primary host is people.
Feeding behavior:
- Adults and nymphs locate a host by detecting heat, carbon‑dioxide and skin odors.
- A single meal supplies enough protein and lipids for a nymph to molt and for an adult to produce a batch of eggs.
- After a bite, the insect injects saliva containing anticoagulants and anesthetic compounds, allowing it to feed undetected for 3–10 minutes.
- Digestion of a blood meal takes 4–6 days at 25 °C; the insect then enters a dormant period until the next host encounter.
Life‑cycle duration:
- Eggs hatch in 6–10 days, producing first‑instar nymphs.
- Five nymphal stages follow; each requires a blood meal to molt to the next stage. Development from egg to adult spans 4–6 weeks under optimal temperatures (22–30 °C) and adequate food supply.
- Adult longevity varies with environmental conditions and feeding frequency. In the laboratory, well‑fed adults survive 6–12 months; in cooler, less favorable settings, individuals may persist for up to 2 years without a blood meal.
- Reproductive output influences population persistence: a single female can lay 200–500 eggs over her lifetime, distributed in multiple oviposition events.
Key factors affecting survival:
- Temperature: higher temperatures accelerate development but reduce adult lifespan; temperatures below 15 °C prolong each stage and may induce diapause.
- Host availability: regular access to blood meals shortens the interval between feedings, extending reproductive period; prolonged starvation forces adults into a quiescent state, decreasing metabolic rate.
- Humidity: relative humidity below 50 % increases desiccation risk, especially for eggs and early nymphs.
In summary, bedbugs rely solely on vertebrate blood, acquiring all essential nutrients from a single feeding episode. Their life span ranges from several months to up to two years, dictated by temperature, humidity, and the frequency of successful blood meals.