Early evidence of establishment of the tropical bedbug (Cimex hemipterus) in Central Europe

Abstract

In recent decades, the world has witnessed a remarkable resurgence of bedbugs (Hemiptera: Cimicidae). Although populations of the common bedbug, Cimex lectularius L., expanded in temperate regions of its original distribution, the tropical bedbug, C. hemipterus (F.), increased its abundance in warmer regions, where it also had been historically distributed. However, C. hemipterus has recently been observed to be expanding to other areas, e.g. North Australia, Middle East, the United States and Russia. In other parts of Europe, few sporadic and ephemeral introductions of C. hemipterus were recorded until recently. We conducted an extensive sampling of European bedbug populations starting in 2002 and found that C. hemipterus has recently become locally established. Among 566 examined infestations, nearly all of which involved C. lectularius, C. hemipterus occurred in six infestations collected since 2019. In at least three cases, the social background of inhabitants of the infested properties indicated that tropical bedbugs likely spread within local communities. Using cytochrome oxidase subunit I, we linked five of the infestations to the most common haplotype found globally, and one to an African haplotype. In all infestations, we observed two kdr‐associated mutations in the sodium channel gene, which are also commonly found across the world.

The first recent case ofCimex hemipterus(Hemiptera: Cimicidae) withsuper-kdrmutations in the Republic of Korea

“…Cimex hemipterus is primarily found in tropical regions of the world (Zorrilla-Vaca et al 2015), whereas the common bed bug, C. lectularius , has been identified mostly in temperate regions. However, the current situation suggests that the climate boundary is becoming obscure and no longer prevents bed bug dispersion and that indoor settings may encourage the spread of both bed bug species (Gapon 2016, Berenger and Pluot-Sigwalt 2017, Cambronero-Heinrichs et al 2020, Masini et al 2020, Balvín et al 2021).…”

“…As the common names suggest, it was known that the common bed bugs, C. lectularius , were mainly distributed in the temperate zone, whereas the tropical bed bugs, C. hemipterus , showed a tropical distribution (Usinger 1966). However, since the mid-2010s, C. hemipterus infestations have been reported in nontropical regions, such as Russia (Gapon 2016), France (Berenger and Pluot-Sigwalt 2017), Italy (Masini et al 2020), China (Zhao et al 2020), Hawaii (Lewis et al 2020), and central Europe (Balvín et al 2021). In addition, C. lectularius infestations have also been reported in Costa Rica, which is the first reported case in Central America (Cambronero-Heinrichs et al 2020).…”

Morphometrics of the Tropical Bed Bug (Hemiptera: Cimicidae) From Cape Coast, Ghana

“…In our research, only C. hemipterus was identified in Cape Coast, suggesting that the climatic conditions characterizing the area was preferentially favorable for the survival of this species ( Usinger 1966 ). Cimex hemipterus has been reported from many parts of the world within the latitudes of 30° north and south of the equator ( Usinger 1966 , Doggett et al 2018 ), and more recently, outside this range as well ( Masini et al 2020 , Balvín et al 2021 ). In Africa, C. hemipterus has been recorded in many countries, including; Zimbabwe, Tanzania, Nigeria, Ethiopia, Ghana, and Sierra Leone ( Fourie and Crafford 2018 , Deku et al 2021 ), which are characterized by similar climatic conditions.…”

“…Cimex hemipterus is mostly found in the tropics of the Old and New Worlds and is the most widely distributed bed bug species in Africa and larger parts of Asia and India ( Zorrilla Vaca et al 2015 ). The species has also been more recently recorded in Australia ( Doggett et al 2003 , Doggett and Cains 2018 ), Europe ( Berenger et al 2017 , Naylor et al 2018 , Masini et al 2020 , Balvín et al 2021 ), Russia ( Gapon 2016 , Golub et al 2020 , Martynov et al 2021 , Prisniy 2021 ), and the USA ( Campbell et al 2016 , Lewis et al 2020 ). Cimex lectularius occurs in temperate and subtropical regions worldwide ( Newberry 1989 , Schuh and Slater 1995 , Eddy and Jones 2011 ) and is the main species occurring in Europe and America ( Eddy and Jones 2011 , Zorrilla Vaca et al 2015 ).…”

Susceptibility and fecundity of Bedbugs (Cimex hemipterus) from Yaba College of Technology Lagos exposed to Selected Classes of Insecticides: A short report

“…Although bedbugs have displayed diverse resistance mechanisms such as penetration resistance through thickening of the cuticle, metabolic resistance by increased activities of detoxification enzymes and knockdown resistance by kdr mutations [11], especially in the developed countries, such information is scarce in the middle to low-income countries. Also, while resistance activities have been reported to chemical treatment in significant high-income countries [12], there is a lack of such information in the tropics, especially in Nigeria. Understanding bedbug susceptibility to chemical treatment is paramount if C. hemipterus is to be effectively managed in this part of the world.…”