Do Bed Bugs Lose Their Shell?
WouterYou can detect bedbug infestation by looking for shells on your bed. They can be as large as a half-inch, and they have a pale yellow color. Bedbugs lay up to seven eggs a day. A single female can lay 250 eggs over her lifetime. You can spot these if you flip over your mattress and inspect the underside. You may even find live bugs inside the shell.
Adult bedbugs do not shed their shell. They shed their skin during the feeding process, and they stop shedding their shells after two weeks. This is referred to as “molting,” and it is very common in insects. During their life cycle, bedbugs go through several stages, starting as eggs and developing into nymphs. This process takes 35 days to complete.
Young bedbugs have translucent shells, but this will change after they feed on human blood. This makes the shell appear much smaller than the bedbug itself. As they get older, their shells become darker and more durable. Their shells look like tiny grains of rice, but the adults are larger.
After the fifth instar, bedbugs enter adulthood. Females have rounded rear ends, while males are more pointed. As they grow, they shed their skins in order to absorb nutrients from blood. Bedbugs can lay up to five eggs daily. Once they become too large, they will make a hole in their shell to climb out. They develop a new shell underneath the old.
