What bugs eat and who eat them

The order of insects, which is called bedbugs, has a huge number species. They can be found anywhere on the planet. The most famous of them are bed bugs. These parasites drink the blood of humans and animals. But this is only a small percentage of their huge population. There are so-called wood bugswho drink the sap of plants, and bedbugs - various insects, frogs and fish become food for them.We will consider only bed parasites, namely: what the bugs eat and what they are like.

Power mechanism

Regardless of habitat bed bugsAll of these representatives have piercing-sucking type of well-developed oral apparatus, with which they suck in a liquid substance. The jaws are presented in the form of a proboscis, with the stylets present inside. They act like scissors. When stepping out, stilettos simply pierce the body intended for nourishment. Also in the trunk there are 2 channels. One of them serves to absorb food, the other - to inject secretions of the salivary glands, containing a large number of active substances:

• like anesthetics, anesthetized during bite;
• enzymes that digest proteins;
• toxic substances of neuroparalytic nature;
• poisonous components that are able to kill the victim with saliva (typical for predators).

How do bedbugs eat

Bedbugs - their larvae and eggs

The parasites that existed in the caves have not died out until today. They easily occupy apartments and houses, and successfully reproduce offspringdespite all the available insecticides.The process of feeding on bedbugs is very informative from a biological point of view.

The only food for this parasite is human or animal blood. There are certain specifics and characteristics, how bite bugs. The bed parasite attacks the victim from 2 am to 5 am, when a person’s sleep is especially strong, therefore it is very difficult to catch him. The bite of the parasite is practically painless, but the saliva that has entered the body after some time begins to cause itching. As a result, often a person combs the bite down to blood. Consequences of a bite insects have a lot in common with an allergic reaction.

Bed bugs usually feed from several wounds, which are located along the blood vessel and form a path of bites in 1-2 centimeters. And on the sheet in the morning you can see small specks of blood. If such phenomena are found, then allergies should be forgotten and urgently addressed. revealing and destruction of bedbugs.

On a note!

In bed parasites, the abdomen is wide and flat, it is difficult for them to wade to human skin due to hairline. Therefore, the inguinal zone and the head for them are an obstacle, and bugs use to feed only body parts that are not covered with hair.Characteristic places for bites are the hands, face, neck and other exposed parts of the human body. Under the clothes for sleeping, they do not crawl.

Reproduction method and feeding frequency

Bedbugs and eggs

The female bedbug is able to postpone up to 250-500 eggs. Up to an adult, egg development takes place within one and a half to two months at a temperature regime of 15 ° C heat. If the temperature is lower, the larva stops its development. With such productivity of females, a natural question arises as to how often bedbugs feed in order to ensure their viability.

Interesting!

To move the larva to another stage, it needs to drink blood at least once, so it feeds more often, but in small portions. In the absence of nutrition, development dramatically slows. But bed bugs are unpretentious and enduring insects. The larva can do without food, but does not develop up to 1.5 years.

Feeding bedbugs that have reached adulthood should be carried out at least 1 time per week at a temperature of 15-20 degrees, and in hot climates much more often. For 7-15 minutes an adult can drink about seven milligrams of blood, which is twice the weight of the insect itself.If the power source in the form of blood for a parasite is absent for a long time, then it falls into a state of suspended animation, in which all life processes slow down. In this form, he can live up to a year in anticipation of his next victim.

Buggy satiety

In comfortable conditions, the bedbug lives 12-14 months, but if during this period it fell into hibernation (anabiosis), then lifespan increases. What are afraid of bedbugs - this is a strong cold. At low sub-zero temperatures, they completely die.

If the parasites are in non-residential premises for some time, a quite reasonable question arises as to what bugs eat besides human blood. They are able to attack rats, pigeons, are actively parasitic in chicken coops. In the absence of food, in order to preserve their life, to get blood, they can attack dogs and cats, but to get to the capillaries on the body of these animals is very difficult because of the thick hair, so such cases are quite rare. Even adjacent to such animals, they will prefer to migrate to other places or premises.

Who eats bedbugs

Does this species of insects have no enemies or those who feed on domestic bugs? There, they are seven-point ladybugs, which are predators in most. In Russia, this species is one of the most common.Their size is 7-8 mm. These small insects are mostly predators. They feed on slowly moving arthropods, living colonies such as the whitefly or aphid. Their diet includes not only bed bugs, but also their maggotsthey do this a great service to man.