What do bedbugs eat in nature? - briefly
Bedbugs subsist on the blood of warm‑blooded vertebrates, primarily feeding on humans, birds, and small mammals such as rodents when they encounter them in natural habitats. They locate hosts by detecting body heat, carbon‑dioxide, and movement.
What do bedbugs eat in nature? - in detail
Bedbugs are obligate hematophages; their sole nutritional source in the wild consists of vertebrate blood. They obtain all essential proteins, lipids, and carbohydrates from the plasma and red blood cells of their hosts.
In natural habitats they exploit a range of warm‑blooded animals that provide suitable resting sites. Typical hosts include:
- Small mammals such as field mice, voles, and ground squirrels that inhabit burrows and nests.
- Bats occupying caves or attic roosts, where the insects can hide in crevices and feed on the roosting colonies.
- Birds that nest in trees, shrubs, or ground cavities; chick and adult blood supply the insects during the breeding season.
- Occasionally, reptiles and amphibians are utilized when they share shelters with insects, although these hosts provide less optimal blood composition.
Feeding occurs primarily at night. Bedbugs detect host presence through heat, carbon‑dioxide, and kairomones, then insert a slender, needle‑like proboscis into the skin. A single meal may deliver up to 0.03 ml of blood, sufficient to sustain the insect for several weeks. After ingestion, excess fluid is excreted as a watery droplet, while the retained plasma and cellular components are digested and assimilated.
The species can endure prolonged fasting periods, ranging from several months up to a year, by reducing metabolic activity. This capacity enables survival during host scarcity or seasonal fluctuations in host availability.
Reproduction depends on blood intake; each female requires at least one full blood meal to develop a batch of eggs. Consequently, the frequency and quality of blood meals directly influence population growth in natural ecosystems.