What do you think when you hear about bed bugs? These are nasty, blood-sucking creatures that spoil a person's life. Usually it is, but not everyone knows how many species of these insects live on earth. Zoologists can count dozens of different names, and each of them differs from the rest in lifestyle and eating style. Today we are looking at varieties of bedbugs, raising the level of literacy.
General Description
These are insects that have inhabited our planet since ancient times. Their history is shorter than that of cockroaches, but no less impressive. All varieties of bedbugs belong to the family of Hemiptera. However, within it there are quite large species differences. And they are different not only in appearance. Habitat, food style and more. The most common are garden, garden and bed. Science knows other varieties of bedbugs, but in one article there is not enough space to review them.
Family features
Let's start with the features that unite them. All hemiptera are relatives, and therefore have similar features. They aremay lead different lifestyles. All varieties of bedbugs have a piercing-sucking apparatus. This allows them to pierce the tissues of other insects, animals, humans, or plants. They suck out nutrients to support their own existence.
Flying species have a similar wing structure. Some species have lost the ability to fly in whole or in part. The bed bug is one of those, this parasite settles in the crevices of the building and in sofas, and feeds on human blood. All varieties of bedbugs (the photo shows their similarity) have a special secret that betrays their presence. The forest species is especially famous for this - the green bug. There are species very small, only 1 mm, while others, on the contrary, grow up to 10 cm in length. The first ones are mostly parasites, so it is convenient for them to hide.
Useful garden insects
Not all varieties of bedbugs (see photo in the article) can be attributed to the unambiguous enemies of man. Garden bugs are considered useful species. They are very common, but most people identify them as beetles. They are predators and eat crop pests.
- Podisus bug destroys Colorado beetles. No one hunts these striped creatures anymore. Bed bugs are specially bred and released into potato beds. For one thing, they destroy the armyworm and other harmful insects and their larvae.
- Bug-soldier. It destroys the eggs of insect pests, which is of great benefit.
- Flower bugs are greenhouses' best friends. ATindoors, they destroy the eggs of various insects, mites, larvae and thrips.
Harmful garden bugs
Almost indefinitely, you can consider varieties of bedbugs. A photo and description of these species will help you deal with this complex family. So, pest bugs also live in the garden. Among them are:
- Turtle - these insects stick around the branches of garden trees and suck out all the juice from them. Young branches and seedlings die after being attacked by turtles.
- Cruciferous bugs - these creatures are pests that eat shoots of cabbage and other plants from this group. Moreover, even birds do not eat them, which, seeing a bright color, immediately understand that these unpleasant insects can produce a liquid with an unpleasant odor.
Water bug
Continuing the description of the varieties of bedbugs, he moves on to formidable predators. The water strider differs from all other varieties precisely in its bloodthirstiness. It can feed on insects and arthropods, mollusks and fish. Water striders drink blood even from turtles. These insects live in ponds, you must have seen them too. They can fly, but they do so solely to move to their wintering grounds.
During the summer season they spend all their time on the water. Using the force of surface tension, the bug glides through the water, leaning on four long legs. When chasing a prey, it pushes forward to accelerate.
Gladysh
One morean amazing creature that at first glance is difficult to attribute to this family. As you can see, the varieties of bedbugs never cease to amaze. A photo with names will allow you to quickly understand the distinctive features and easily recognize one from the other. So, the squad of bedbugs also includes a terrible water predator smooth. It is very easy to recognize him by habit, swimming with his back up. This makes it less visible to birds and fish.
This predator prefers to hunt mosquito larvae, as well as its smaller counterparts. The second name is the water wasp. Smoothies never attack a human, but if you try to grab an insect, it will reward you with a painful bite. At night, they get out on land, take off and go in search of new ponds, if the old one does not suit them.
Carnivorous bugs
The habitat covers almost all levels of the geosphere. They can be found on trees and plants, under rocks and on the ground, in bird nests, in burrows, deserts and water bodies. They feed on insects and their remains, or parasitize on vertebrates. Predators of the Reduviidae family live in outbuildings. They prey on night-sleeping flies, cockroaches and bed bugs. A person is rarely attacked, usually by accident. But the bites are very painful.
Bug parasites
The huge group also includes insects that exist at the expense of larger organisms. And only some of them choose a person as an object of "adoration". More than 30 species parasitize birds, rodents and bats. Just belowLet's take a closer look at the varieties of home bugs. A photo and description will allow everyone to make sure that they are ready to meet uninvited guests in their home. But for now, very briefly about other representatives of this group.
The whole family of Cimicidae is characterized by a parasitic way of life, for which they are not loved.
- Cimicides are nocturnal parasites that hide in crevices during daylight hours. They attack the victim when she is sleeping. It is impossible to feel the bite, because, unlike mosquitoes or lice, bloodsuckers do not betray their presence. The saliva contains an anesthetic substance, which means that the victim will sleep peacefully.
- "Kissing bugs". They belong to the species indicated above, to its most dangerous representatives. They live in South America. Their characteristic features are bites in the face, as well as severe consequences: headache, itching and loss of consciousness. But this is not the main danger. The triatomine bug (this is its official name) is a carrier of parasites that, when they enter the human bloodstream, begin to eat the blood of their victim. Medicines only help in the very early stages of the infection.
Varieties of house bugs
Some believe that representatives of one species live in a human dwelling, others are sure that this is not so. Let's see in scientific reference books what representatives of science think about this. Bed bugs are at the top of the list. A variety of Cimex Lectularius has fully adapted to life next to humans. AfterDuring the Second World War, the domestic bug was almost completely eliminated, remaining only in the least socially favorable places. But he was not completely defeated. From time to time, here and there, people are surprised to find that someone bites them at night, and this is clearly not a mosquito.
The second variety is Cimex hemipterus. On the territory of our country they do not exist, they are the inhabitants of tropical forests.
The trouble of the southern regions - Cimex pilosellus
They do not live in all areas, but only where there is a family of bats. These bugs develop their population in a colony of bats, which often live in attics or outside the walls of a building. If the flying creatures decided to move to a new place of residence, then the insects move to the human dwelling and begin to attack him with no less zeal than the true owners. This species can live directly on the body of a bat, as well as near their roosting sites. Experiencing a lack of blood, the entire colony begins to look for a new place to feed.
Oeciacus Vicarius
This parasite is found in birds, and in most cases in swallows. A person's problems begin when birds build their nests near his dwelling. In autumn, swallows move south, and the parasites fall asleep due to the seasonal drop in temperature. In the spring, they wake up from hibernation and go in search of fresh blood. Usually, a person acts as its source.
Oeciacus Vicarius is the most enduring species that can survivetemperature drops below -15 degrees. Therefore, Russian winters are not fully protected from parasites.
What do bed bugs look like?
Today, most people consider bedbugs a relic of the past and do not expect to see them in the walls of their homes. But they are no less real than mosquitoes and other insects. Bed bugs can enter your home at any time. Therefore, in order to immediately understand the cause of the appearance of red spots on the skin, you need to be able to distinguish bites from allergies. Itchy pimples do not go away, but only increase in number, which indicates the appearance of bedbugs in the apartment. The species is usually Cimex Lectularius, so let's describe the appearance of these insects.
Common signs
Insects are usually about the size of an apple seed, about 7mm long. The body shape is oval, long and flat, brown in color. If the bug has recently eaten, then it may be lighter. The whole body is divided into a head with antennae and a segmented abdomen. After heavy feeding, it takes the form of a ball.
The habitat of bedbugs can be distinguished by their characteristic smell. It's nasty, moldy and sweet. Its appearance is associated with a secret produced by special glands, which are located on the underside of the body of bedbugs. Add to this the smell of feces, because they feed exclusively on blood.
Juveniles or nymphs
Some believe that this is another type of bed bugs. Photos of these parasites are placed by their "popular" name, which contributes to the spread of thisopinions. In fact, nymphs are just cubs, young individuals. Outwardly, they look like adult bugs, but there are some differences. The cubs are somewhat smaller in size, their bodies are translucent. If the nymph has not drunk a portion of blood, she may not be noticed at all.
If you have bed bugs at home, you should also look for egg laying. They are tiny formations, about the size of a pinhead, and are pearly white in color.
Why are bed bugs dangerous?
Should you panic if these insects have settled in your home? The bed bug feeds exclusively on blood and nothing else. It is believed that they can transmit pathogens of the most serious diseases, but this has not been confirmed. Despite this, there is obvious harm from them:
- violation of sanitary and hygienic standards of human habitation;
- chronic sleep disturbance at night;
- red rashes on the bites, which are also very itchy;
- blood stains on the sheets, drunk bedbugs do not have time to crawl away, and a person crushes them in a dream.
Instead of a conclusion
There are a lot of varieties of bedbugs, among them there are both harmful and useful. Therefore, it would be good to know the distinctive features of individual representatives, so as not to destroy garden bugs in vain. But bed bloodsuckers deserve the most severe punishment. It is good that today there is a huge amount of insecticides that are relatively safe for humans and allow you to clean your home from insects.
You can fight bedbugs on your own or contact a special organization thatdoing home renovations. The second method is preferable, since specialists have high-quality solutions for treating various surfaces, as well as protection for their safe application. Therefore, unlike you, the workers of such teams will not harm themselves and others.
