This article by Jerry Cates, first published on 18 August 2013, was last revised on 23 September 2013. Bugsinthenews Vol. 14:08(01).
001. Mature Bed Bug from Northwest Austin, Ventral View
002. Mature Bed Bug from Northwest Austin, Dorsal View
The Early History of Bed Bugs
Unlike the case for most other organisms, whose scientific names were assigned by the scientists who first described them, the label for the common bed bug (Cimex lectularius) was given by the folk who suffered from its bites. They named this insect based on their understanding of the beast itself and the places it tended to haunt.
The Latin word for bug is cimex. Latin for a small couch, litter, or bed islectus. The inhabitants of the sprawling Roman Empire from the modest huts of the poorest commoners to the opulent bedrooms of the Caesars themselves were all afflicted with infestations of these tiny, blood-hungry insects. Just like us, they talked amongst themselves about their problems, and bed bugs were a serious problem. Any mention of this minuscule, ravenous beast would likely have employed both words, along with a few more colorful adjectives as well.
But bed bugs and their afflictions on mankind preceded ancient Rome. In truth, they preceded written history by thousands of years. Archeological evidence, unearthed in Mediterranean caves, suggests they got their start as bat bugs, feeding on the blood of bats inhabiting those caves and similar locales where bats tended to congregate.
Primitive human hunter-gatherers regularly took up housekeeping (or, more precisely cave keeping) in close proximity with bats, and it wasnt long before bat bugs took to feeding on human blood when bat blood was in short supply. That happened rather frequently, because many species of bats are migratory. When the bats departed for their winter or summer homes, most of their parasitic bat bugs whose legs are not well adapted to clinging to bat skin or fur during long periods aloft would go hungry until they returned, six months or so later. Fortunately, these bugs are able to survive for long periods of time without feeding, but having cave-dwelling humans nearby made fasting unnecessary. How convenient
Over many millennia certain of the bat bugs came to prefer human hosts to bats. In time they developed anatomical characters that sharpened their preference for humans and other terrestrial animals, though even today bat bugs and bed bugs are capable of feeding on bats and humans when their preferred hosts are not close by. When cave-dwelling humans became more numerous, and transitioned from caves into loose aggregations of houses and huts, their newfound parasites came along for the ride. There, in the bedrooms of villages, towns, and cities, the accommodations were even better suited for bed bugs to thrive. As mankind continued to move into new and unexplored territories, the bed bugs traveled with them, eventually reaching every corner of the globe that man marched into.
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Bed Bugs in Texas Bugs In The News
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