Bed bugs, their blood sources and life history parameters: a comparison of artificial and natural feeding

Aak, Anders; Rukke, Bjørn Arne

doi:10.1111/mve.12015

Cited by 28 publications

(28 citation statements)

References 36 publications

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“…The stock cultures were maintained in a 16 h/8 h light/dark cycle at 22°C and 65% relative humidity. All of the experimental animals were fed heated human blood through a Parafilm membrane [ 28 ]. Small samples of blood were donated voluntary by two of the authors, after written consent.…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Mortality, Temporary Sterilization, and Maternal Effects of Sublethal Heat in Bed Bugs

2015

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Adult bed bugs were exposed to the sublethal temperatures 34.0°C, 35.5°C, 37.0°C, 38.5°C, or 40.0°C for 3, 6, or 9 days. The two uppermost temperatures induced 100% mortality within 9 and 2 days, respectively, whereas 34.0°C had no observable effect. The intermediate temperatures interacted with time to induce a limited level of mortality but had distinct effects on fecundity, reflected by decreases in the number of eggs produced and hatching success. Adult fecundity remained low for up to 40 days after heat exposure, and the time until fertility was restored correlated with the temperature-sum experienced during heat exposure. Three or 6 days of parental exposure to 38.5°C significantly lowered their offspring’s feeding and moulting ability, which consequently led to a failure to continue beyond the third instar. Eggs that were deposited at 22.0°C before being exposed to 37.0°C for 3 or 6 days died, whereas eggs that were exposed to lower temperatures were not significantly affected. Eggs that were deposited during heat treatment exhibited high levels of mortality also at 34.0°C and 35.5°C. The observed negative effects of temperatures between 34.0°C and 40.0°C may be utilized in pest management, and sublethal temperature exposure ought to be further investigated as an additional tool to decimate or potentially eradicate bed bug populations. The effect of parental heat exposure on progeny demonstrates the importance of including maternal considerations when studying bed bug environmental stress reactions.

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Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Mortality, Temporary Sterilization, and Maternal Effects of Sublethal Heat in Bed Bugs

2015

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“…The simplicity of our protocol is similar to that of protocols used to feed and maintain colonies of non-fastidious hematophagous species, including many mosquitoes and bed bugs [1,7,21,22]. By employing the Hemotek device, handling the blood and blood reservoir using sterile technique, and storing blood at 4°C between feedings, only~2 mL of blood are needed each week to feed a colony of hundreds of lice.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

A simplified protocol for in vitro rearing of human body lice

Pietri

Ray

2020

Parasite

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Human body lice (Pediculus humanus) are neglected ectoparasites and pathogen vectors. Difficulties in raising and maintaining colonies of body lice in a laboratory setting remain a barrier to fundamental studies of physiology and vector-pathogen interactions in these insects. Several in vivo and in vitro rearing systems have been previously described and used by multiple research groups. However, these methods suffer from drawbacks that still complicate the rearing of body lice relative to many other commonly studied hematophagous insects. Here, a simplified protocol for raising and maintaining body lice in vitro using the commercially available Hemotek apparatus is described. This protocol draws from published methods for rearing body lice as well as other hematophagous insect species to further reduce labor, time, costs, and regulatory requirements typically associated with keeping human body lice in the laboratory. Using this protocol, the insects consistently fed on commercially available rabbit blood with little mortality, reached adulthood at a high rate, and produced a significant number of viable eggs, resulting in a 4.8-fold increase in population over a period of 40 days. The data suggest that the process described here can propagate modest populations for ongoing laboratory experiments and is a useful alternative to existing methods. The use and further optimization of in vitro rearing systems may facilitate dynamic studies of body lice by a wider range of investigators, enabling new progress in combating lice infestations, and louse-borne infections.

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“…Bed bugs originated from two hotels located in Oslo, Norway, and founder individuals were collected in 2009. They were fed human blood artificially through parafilm blood bags . Cultures were maintained in climate chambers (Sanyo – MLR‐351H; Medinor ASA, Oslo, Norway) with a 16/8 h light/dark cycle at 22 °C and 60% relative humidity.…”

Section: Experimental Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…They were fed human blood artificially through parafilm blood bags. 15 Cultures were maintained in climate chambers (Sanyo -MLR-351H; Medinor ASA, Oslo, Norway) with a 16/8 h light/dark cycle at 22 ∘ C and 60% relative humidity. Fourth-and fifth-instar nymphs were collected, fed and allowed to moult during the following fortnight to provide newly emerged fifth instars and adults to be used in experiments.…”

Section: Experimental Insectsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Mortality, fecundity and development among bed bugs (Cimex lectularius) exposed to prolonged, intermediate cold stress

Rukke

Hage

Aak

2017

Pest Management Science

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BACKGROUNDBed bugs (Cimex lectularius L.) have returned as a nuisance pest worldwide. Their ability to withstand different types of environmental stress should be explored in order potentially to increase the efficiency of control methods.RESULTSImmediate and long‐term effects of exposure to temperatures from 0 to −10 °C for 1, 2 and 3 weeks are reported. Fifth‐instar nymphs and adults were exposed to constant or fluctuating temperatures. Increased cold and extended time yielded higher mortality; nymphs were more resilient than adults at the shorter durations of exposure. At intermediate temperatures, mortality was higher at constant compared with fluctuating temperatures, whereas all individuals died after 3 weeks of exposure to −7 °C. The success among survivors after cold treatment was also affected in terms of reduced egg production, hatching success and the ability of fifth‐instar nymphs to advance into the adult stage; however, nymphs produced after cold treatment developed normally.CONCLUSIONSDetrimental effects of prolonged exposure to low temperatures were seen in bed bugs both during and after cold treatment. The results suggest that temperatures below −7 °C can be applied by laymen to control this pest in small items if available treatment time is of less concern. © 2016 The Authors. Pest Management Science published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd on behalf of Society of Chemical Industry.

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Bed bugs, their blood sources and life history parameters: a comparison of artificial and natural feeding

Cited by 28 publications

References 36 publications

Mortality, Temporary Sterilization, and Maternal Effects of Sublethal Heat in Bed Bugs

Mortality, Temporary Sterilization, and Maternal Effects of Sublethal Heat in Bed Bugs

A simplified protocol for in vitro rearing of human body lice

Mortality, fecundity and development among bed bugs (Cimex lectularius) exposed to prolonged, intermediate cold stress

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