It takes a village:To paraphrase Hillary Clinton, new research shows it takes a village to raise a bed bug

摘要

Arecent study looked into the question of whether Cimex lectularius nymphs reared in groups develop faster than their solitary counterparts: Do bed bugs mature more quickly when they're part of a community, or when they strike out on their own? The researchers also examined the effects of group housing (aggregation) on same-age nymphs without any adults around, compared to nymphs reared with adults.In another, unrelated study, the topic was seasonality. Researchers were hoping that knowing more about the seasonality of bed bugs might help improve current practices used to control and eradicate the bountiful pests.In the first study, a team from North Carolina State University found bed bug nymphs — similar to other gregarious insects such as crickets, cockroaches and grasshoppers — mature faster in aggregations than solitary nymphs. Their rate of growth was faster by 2.2 days, or 7.3 percent, a significant difference. Aggregated nymphs in the study experienced a lower mortality rate (6 percent) than solitary nymphs (18 percent), but such a difference isn't deemed considerable.