Pest Management Professional, June 2014

INSURANCE CONTRACTS HEAT SPRAY TRAINING ENCASE FUMIGATE SECTION DETECT BU TRAP FREEZE PRICING BED G SPECIAL New Research MONITOR COMMUNICATION It takes a village To paraphrase Hillary Clinton new research shows it takes a village to raise a bed bug Patrick Mahoney Contributor A recent 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 theyre 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 22 days or 73 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 isnt deemed considerable Researchers didnt observe any significant difference in development time between males and females in the two groups New research concludeds nymphs dont need adults around to grow at optimal rates The bed bugs used in the study originated in an infested apartment in Jersey City N J and had been in culture for three years in a laboratory Researchers selected only recently hatched first instars Blood was offered three times every week to ensure sufficient access to a bloodmeal The development time for each gender was measured when nymphs reached adult stage Live free or die Group Living Accelerates Bed Bug Hemiptera Cimicidae Development published in the January 2014 issue of the Journal of Medical Entomology also suggests the growth related effects of socialization are the same regardless of the ages of the individuals in the group Bed bugs live in groups consisting of eggs nymphs and adults of various ages The research concluded nymphs dont need adults around to grow at optimal rates The nymphs raised in a group of 50 similarly aged bed bugs matured no faster or slower than 50 nymphs raised with 10 adult males which were used to avoid the problems that eggs and therefore more nymphs wouldve created Again researchers observed no significant difference in development time between males and females The failure of the presence of adult males to affect development of the grouped nymphs suggests the effects of grouping are the same regardless of the age of individuals in the group Additionally newly hatched bed bugs dont need interaction with mature bed bugs for rapid growth implying development might be independent of horizontally transmitted symbiotic microbes Continued on page BB3 BB1 June 2014 Pest Management Professional www mypmp net Photo courtesy of and copyrighted by Gene White pmimages@ earthlink net ISOLATE VACUUM STEAM EXCLUDE COOPERATION