Bed Bug Life Cycle

Bed Bug Life Cycle

 The life cycle of a bed bug is shown in the photograph below. During its lifetime, a bed bug will go through the following stages (starting from the top left, moving counterclockwise):

• Eggs (1 mm)
• 1st stage nymph (1.5 mm)
• 2nd stage nymph (2 mm)
• 3rd stage nymph (2.5 mm)
• 4th stage nymph (3 mm)
• 5th stage nymph (3.5 mm)
• Unfed adult
• Fed adult

A female bed bug can lay 1-5 eggs per day in cracks and crevices. Their development time is 21 days. The average life span is 6-12 months and they will feed every 10 days or so during this time. Bed bugs can survive many months without a blood meal and the reproduce in an unusual fashion. Instead of copulation by connection of genitals, bed bug males traumatically inseminate the females. This is accomplished by the male piercing her body with his syringe like genitalia and injecting her with sperm. This is not especially good for the females as they are more prone to damage or infection from such occurrences.