The ecology of the bed-bug,Cimex lectulariusL., in Britain

Abstract

In 1934 a committee on the eradication of bed-bugs appointed by the Minister of Health issued its report (Report on the Bed-bug, 1934) in which recommendations for research into the biology ofCimex lectulariusL. were made. The committee was struck by the lack of precise information on certain aspects of the bionomics and habits of the insect and suggested work along the following lines:The effect of food supply and starvation at different seasons and at different stages of development.The periods of survival of bed-bugs and their eggs under different conditions.The extent to which bed-bugs can subsist on the blood of birds, bats, mice, etc., when deprived of human blood.The position and types of harbourages most favoured by bed-bugs under different conditions.The distance which bed-bugs will travel, the factors (warmth, smell, etc.) which attract them, and whether they habitually return to the same harbourage.