Bed Bugs – Do Bed Bugs Need to Feed to Reproduce?
WouterBed bugs need to feed to reproduce. After feeding, they show more interest in mating. This is because they have more nutrients in their body and are able to produce more fertile eggs and sperm. They also move more slowly, making it easier to catch them when they are mating. They can reproduce up to 11 months if conditions are ideal.
The bed is one of the most popular places for bed bugs to hide and lay eggs. They come out at night to feed and make a nest. They are very small and can hide under the mattress tag and box springs. The headboard is another popular place to hide. They like to feed near human hosts and will leave their hiding place to feed at night.
Adult bed bugs are oval-shaped, wingless insects about a fifth of an inch long. They have well-developed antennae and small compound eyes. The pronotum area (the area behind the head) bears numerous small hairs. The immature stage of the life cycle, called nymphs, is smaller than the adult bed bug and is yellow or white in color.
Bed bugs have very interesting and bizarre reproductive and breeding habits. Male bed bugs inject sperm into the hemocoel of a female bed bug, and the sperm travels through the female’s body until it reaches the ovaries, where it fertilizes the eggs. Female bed bugs also have a special organ called a spermalege that is unique to these bugs.
