Young bed bugs, nymphs, use odor signals to inform adult males that they are not ready for mating.
This finding was recently shown by researchers at the Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences (SLU) and Lund University in Sweden, and published in the scientific journal BMC Biology.
- Mating in bed bugs is traumatic, and the males penetrates the abdomen with his rigid penis, says Rickard Ignell, one of the researchers at SLU.
Adult females are adapted to this type of insemination, but in nymphs this type of trauma can lead to significant damages. To protect themselves, nymphs release an odor signal, a pheromone, which deters any male that attempts to mate.
We have seen a global resurgence of bed bugs in the world, a once common household pest, in the last decade. The new research results may offer an untapped opportunity for pest control.
Vincent Harraca and Rickard Ignell at SLU in Alnarp and Camilla Ryne at Lund University are the responsible researchers behind the study.