The Life Cycle of the Bed Bug
Bed Bug University
Bed bugs reproduce by something called, “traumatic insemination”. This term means that the male bug actually pierces the abdomen of the female to impregnate her. Researchers have found that the females often migrate away from the nest in order to avoid this relentless and traumatic piercing by the males. The University of Florida, Department of Entomology has published photos which show the insemination process.
As you may know bed bugs begin life in an egg sack. These egg sacks can hatch anywhere from 3 days up to 30 days depending on the temperature and other factors. The most common seems to be 14 to 16 days. Just as a snake will molt, bed bugs also shed their skin each time they grow into a different “instar” or stage in development. There are 5 instar stages that bed bugs will go thru in becoming an adult bed bug. The bug must take a blood meal in order to go into the next instar stage of development.
Bed Bug Illustration
Source: LiveScience
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