Mating and starvation modulate feeding and host-seeking responses in female bed bugs, Cimex lectularius.

ABSTRACT: Reproductive fitness and survival are enhanced by adaptive behaviors that are modulated by internal physiological states and external social contexts. The common bed bug, Cimex lectularius, is an obligate hematophagous ectoparasite that requires host blood for growth, development, and reproduction. We investigated how mating, starvation and social interactions affect host-seeking, blood feeding, oviposition, and survival of female bed bugs. The percentage of females that fed and the amount of blood they ingested were greater in mated females (90-100%) than in unmated females (48-60%). Mating state also modulated the female's orientation towards human skin odor in an olfactometer; more mated (69%) than unmated (23%) females responded to human odors. The response rate of unmated females (60%

SUBMITTER: Saveer AM 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC7820594 | biostudies-literature | 2021 Jan

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature