BED'BUG'. A reddish-brown, flattened, wing less, nocturnal insect (.4canthia or ('inicx lectu laria) peculiar to the fixed habitations of man, and subsisting by sucking his blood. It repre sents a family Acanthibbe, or Cimicidre, of heter opterous bugs (Ilemiptera,), which, with numer ous allied forms, live upon the juices of plants and animals; and this parasitic life has caused degeneracy, until now this species has acquired a very that body. capable of hiding in narrow cracks, and has completely lost its wings; it has also gained the power of resisting great cold. and of fasting indefinitely. so that it easily survives long intervals between tenants in a house—a fact which often accounts for an otherwise mys terious appearance of the pest. Its mouth con sists of a three-pa•ted proboscis, can he thrust through the skin like a hollow medic, and then becomes a blood-pump. The parasite hides by day in cracks and crevices of floors, walls, and furniture, frequenting beds especially, simply because there it gets its living at night. The eggs of the bedbug are minute. whitish oval objects, laid in clusters in the crevices used by the bugs for concealment, and hatch in about 8 days, the young being almost transparent 'nits,' which grow darker in color as they increase in size, until, when full-grown, they may be a quarter of an inch long. This growth is attained by means of five molts, and if food and warmth be plenty, maturity may be attained in three months; but under adverse conditions growth may be greatly prolonged. A female may lay several packets of eggs and several broods be raised each year, so that under favorable condi tions (slovenly housekeeping) the multiplica tion is extremely rapid. These insects have been known as house-pests from the earliest times, and it is believed came originally from India. Aristotle alleged that they arose spon taneously from sweat. Their spread is mainly
due to their being carried from place to place in furniture, vehicles, and clothing. They do not seem to have reached England previous to the Seventeenth Century: at any rate, to a notable extent. since the word 'bug,' which now designates this pest primarily in British speech, is not so used in Shakespeare's writings. Amer ica received it from Europe, and ships have now spread it all over the world. There is a popu lar belief that it dwells in the woods under hark of decaying timber, and also that it infests certain other domestic animals, especially poul try. That it may sometimes prey upon other animals is possible; but entomologists believe it to be restricted to humanity, and that all the similar bugs (see CONE-NOSE) found upon bats, swallows, pigeons. and poultry are other species peculiar to each of those animals, and not at tacking men. Certain bird-lice have a decep tive resemblance, also, to the Cimicidm. Bed bugs are eaten by various predatory insects, especially cockroaches.
The remedy lies in persistent and minute cleanliness. "The application," says Osborn, "of the common remedies, such as benzine, corrosive sublimate, kerosene, and hot water, will usually suffice to rid an ordinary dwelling of these pests; but in larger buildings, probably nothing is more effectual than thorough fumigation with sulphur, brimstone, or perhaps bisulphide of carbon. . . . For immediate relief in a sleep ing-room, pyrethrum is most available, since it can be used while a room is occupied. Dusted between the sheets of a bed, it will protect the sleeper from the most voracious hotel bug." Consult Osborn, Insects Affecting Domestic Ani mals (United States Department of Agriculture, Washington, 1896). See Buo,