Get rid of bugs - all the facts about the larvae and offspring

Bed bugs are synanthropic blood-sucking parasites. With their bites, they cause allergies, skin rashes, and provoke problems with sleep. Nocturnal pests leave chains of wounds on the human body. Bugs of bugs feed on adult insects. The offspring are no less voracious and harmful. To get rid of the entire colony of parasites, it is necessary to find out the features of their behavior.

What look like larvae of bugs

Bed bugs is the name of a whole family of semi-rigid winged and the most common species. Insects are blood-sucking parasites of people, birds and small animals. They are nocturnal, attacking victims during sleep. The daytime period is spent in secluded places, hiding in narrow dark cracks. In order to detect synanthropic insects in time, you need to know how they look.

The offspring of bugs is similar in structure to adults. Their body is flattened, consists of a head, chest and abdomen. After birth, nymphs have all the necessary sensory organs. Their antennae are tuned to search for the heat of the human body. It is a food source that they aspire to from an early age. Sensitive antennas work better than the organs of vision. On the underside of the body of the insect are odorous glands. In case of danger, a liquid with a pungent odor is released from them. Unlike adults, the glands in the larvae are located on the abdomen.

Small parasites are easily confused with other synanthropic insects. Their distinguishing features are:

• flat rounded body;
• transparent, yellowish color in a hungry state, blackened blood remains visible in the abdomen a few days after eating;
• 3 pairs of limbs are located on the chest;
• the most likely habitat is a person’s bed;
• when crushing the parasite, a persistent unpleasant odor appears.

Nymphs move slowly, they leave the shelter only to saturate with blood. After returning, they remain apathetic for several days, then molt.

Information. Low and high temperatures can kill the bug larva. In frost to -17 °, she dies after 1 day. When the temperature rises to 45 °, you can get rid of the parasite in 40 minutes.

Development features

Bed bugs are insects with incomplete transformation. This type of metamorphosis involves 3 stages of development:

• egg;
• larva (nymph);
• imago.

Domestic parasites breed all year round; the number of their generations is multiple. An article will tell about the appearance and lifestyle of adult pests “Bed bugs: the appearance of bloodsuckers, and what harm can they do to health?”. The female put the masonry in a secluded place. The incubation period of bed bugs in favorable conditions is 5-7 days, then larvae appear. Tearing the lid off the egg, they get out. The period of development of the offspring takes from 30 to 40 days in heat (24-30 °) and 80-100 days at lower temperatures. From a mature individual, the larva is separated by 5 ages and molts.

Molting features

As the insect grows, its chitinous cover (cuticle) becomes cramped. The skin ruptures and the larva exits from it. The cuticle breaks in the neck and head under the pressure of blood.The periods between molting are called age. Bed bugs have 5 of them. Differences between ages are weak, the main change is an increase in size. In the place where the offspring of parasites lives with adults, there are many remains of chitinous cover. Accumulation of garbage is one of the signs of the presence of ectoparasites in the house.

For the offspring of domestic bugs, the molting process is closely related to nutrition. Only after draining a portion of blood they can make the transition to the next phase. After each molt, 5 mm is added to the body length. An equally important factor is temperature, with an indicator of 14 ° and below the development of nymphs stops until the return of comfortable conditions. Raising the temperature to 30 ° accelerates their metamorphosis. For comparison:

• at 28-32 ° - the nymph reaches puberty in 28-30 days;
• at 20-23 ° - the development of the larva is stretched for 42-56 days.

Information. Nymphs of older ages are highly adaptable, they withstand hunger for up to 18 months. The body of insects becomes thinner to transparency, they become lethargic. But after power all functions are restored.

Stages of development of the nymph

From birth, nymphs of bugs are reduced in size copies of adult parasites. Their development takes 3 phases:

• First age. After leaving the egg shell, the insect covers are soft. The color is light, almost transparent. The brightest spot is the bulging red eyes located on the sides of the head. The size is 1.5 mm. The period lasts 6 days.
• Second age. The parasite grows to 2 mm, its integument becomes brownish. The flat body is covered with short dies, which help to find a power source. Antennae consist of 4 segments, but they are shorter and thicker than in adult bugs. The next molt occurs in 5-7 days.
• Third age. The larva after dropping the cuticle grows to 2.5 mm. She goes hunting for blood with an imago. In speed, the nymph is inferior to adults. Short limbs develop a speed of not more than 25 cm in 1 minute. In young animals, the foot consists of only two segments.
• Fourth age. The size of the parasite is 3 mm. They are almost invisible to the eye. Blood feeding (3-4 ml) gives the insect enough energy for the next transformation, which will take place in 5 days at a comfortable temperature. At this stage, it is impossible to determine gender, but wing buds are outlined on the back. The wings of the parasites are reduced, the remnants of the elytra are all that remains of the flying organ.
• Fifth age. To this stage, the nymph reaches 4-4.5 mm. She left the last molt before the transformation of the imago. Larvae born at the same time stay in groups until adulthood. Together they hide from daylight, feed on the human body. After their bites, extensive swelling damage remains. The process of sucking blood takes about 10 minutes. After it, the insect increases in size by 2-3 times. Transparent yellow body color changes to bright red. The parasite is easy to spot, so it hurries to hide in a crevice or sweat seams.

Dropping a tight cuticle for the last time, the nymph turns into an adult. Half of the individuals are characterized by a smaller size and a sharp tip of the abdomen - these are males. The second part of the insects has a wide rounded abdomen and the size of about 5-5.5 mm is females.

Bed bug larvae feeding

In ectoparasites, a piercing-sucking type of oral apparatus has formed. It is present in adults and nymphs. In the offspring that emerged from the egg, a long three-segmented proboscis is clearly visible. He appeared by transforming his lower lip. The upper and lower jaws extended to the state of stitching bristles. They pierce the parasite through the skin, then through a special channel they let saliva inside. The secret of the bug contains anticoagulants that do not allow blood to clot. On the second channel, the nutrient fluid enters the body of the parasite.

Harm from nymph bites

Weak small insects for food choose open areas of the human body.If children are sleeping in a room, then they are attacked. The parasites are attracted by the thin epidermis, the proximity of capillaries and the absence of hairline. They prefer to bite their face, neck, arms, back and stomach. A characteristic feature of the species is multiple attacks. After which there are whole chains of damage. The bite sites itch a lot, a red rash appears. The severity of an allergic reaction depends on the characteristics of the human body; for some, bedbug attacks go unnoticed.

Information. In the intestines of domestic bugs and their larvae, many pathogenic bacteria were found. They are carriers of typhoid, plague, tularemia, hepatitis, and fever. Scientists have not recorded cases of infection of people with dangerous viruses, but there is a threat.

Multiple generation of nymphs deprives residents of the apartment of normal rest. A restless sleep awaits them at night. Fatigue accumulates, disability decreases, a person becomes irritable. Each larva drinks only a few milliliters of blood, but given their sheer abundance, anemia can occur. The most dangerous effect of parasites on children.

To control pests, agents designed for adults are used. The popular insecticides in aerosols "Raptor", "Clean House", "Dichlorvos". Effectively the use of concentrated emulsions "Executioner", "Get." After 2 weeks, re-treatment will be required. By this time, a new generation of larvae will appear from eggs that do not die from chemicals.

Where to look for larvae

The search for habitats of larvae is limited to the areas closest to the bed. They can be hidden in the seams of the mattress, behind torn wallpaper, in crevices of walls, door frames, inside upholstered furniture. To get to them in some cases, you will have to tear off the upholstery. To destroy the entire colony of pests, comprehensive measures are applied, including the high-temperature treatment of furniture, walls, bedding and clothes. Bedbug larvae do not have mechanisms of protection against chemical and thermal treatment.