Home Bed Bugs What are Bed Bugs? Names in other Languages

What are Bed Bugs? Names in other Languages

Bed bugs are brownish flat-bodied tiny parasitic insects that feed by sucking blood from humans or animals.

Scientific classification

Kingdom: Animalia
Clade: Euarthropoda
Class: Insecta
Order: Hemiptera
Family: Cimicidae
Genus: Cimex

The name bed bug comes from the ideal habitat of Cimex lectularius(latin): warm rooms and especially near or inside beds and bedding or other sleep areas.
Bed bugs are mainly active at night, but are not exclusively nocturnal.

Some people may to bed bugs as bloodsuckers or sucking insects

Bed bugs in other languages

In spanish, bed bugs are called chinches
In French they are called punaise de lit
In Italian they are called cimice
In Hindi they are called khatamal written as खटमल
In Chinese they known as Chòuchóng written as 臭虫

Types of Bed Bugs

The bed bugs are of the taxonomic family, Cicimid and are of four main species.

These include

The bed bugs mentioned are predominant in different locations or regions in the world with C. pipistrelli in Europe, C. pilosellus in Western United States and C. adjunctus in Eastern United States. C. lecturalis is the common bed bug found all over the world.

Physical Appearance

As mentioned earlier they’re small and have a flat body. They are brownish in color but this vary depending on various factors. Below are links to details of bed bug appearance & pictures

Bed bug definition where they come from, causes, how yo get them, and more facts and frequently asked questions
Bed bug illustration

Remember that there are other bugs that may be mistaken for bed bugs. Here is a discussion of bed bug look-a-likes.

Reproduction & Growth Stages

Bed bugs mate by what is known as traumatic insemination and make offspring.

After mating, the life cycle starts from eggs, nymph then adults

Habits

Though not entirely, bed bugs are  active at night. They crawl and therefore cannot fly. They live or hide in warm places including but not limited to mattresses & bedding, clothing, electronics, carpet, couch and even in your car. They are also thought to hide in your hair.

In terms food, as you will learn shortly, they feed on blood.