. Circular. Insects. 5 Extraordinary stories are current of the remarkable intelligence of this insect in circumventing various efforts to prevent its gaining access to beds. Most of these are undoubtedly exaggerations, but the inherited experience of many centuries of companionship with man, during which the bedbug has always found its host an active enemy, has resulted in a knowledge of the habits of the human animal and a facility of con- cealment, particularly as evidenced by its abandoning beds and often going to distant quarters for protection and hiding during daylight, which indicate c
. Circular. Insects. 5 Extraordinary stories are current of the remarkable intelligence of this insect in circumventing various efforts to prevent its gaining access to beds. Most of these are undoubtedly exaggerations, but the inherited experience of many centuries of companionship with man, during which the bedbug has always found its host an active enemy, has resulted in a knowledge of the habits of the human animal and a facility of con- cealment, particularly as evidenced by its abandoning beds and often going to distant quarters for protection and hiding during daylight, which indicate considerable apparent intelligence. The bite of the bedbug is decidedly poisonous to some individuals, resulting in a slight swelling and disagreeable inflammation. To such persons the presence of bedbugs is sufficient to cause the greatest uneasiness, if not to put sleep and rest entirely out of the question. With others, however, who are less sensitive, the presence of the hugs may not be recognized at all, and, except for the occasional staining of. Fig. 3.—Bedbug (Cimex Ueiularius): a, larval skin shed at first molt; b, second larval stage taken immediately after emerging from a; c, same after first meal, distended with blood. Greatly enlarged (original). the linen by a crushed individual, their presence might be entirely over- looked. The inflammation experienced by sensitive persons seems to result merely from the puncture of the skin by the sharp piercing seta? which constitute the puncturing element of the mouth parts, as there seems to be no secretion of poison other than the natural fluids of the mouth. The biting organ of the bedbug is exactly like that of other hemip- terous insects. It consists of a rather heavy, fleshy under lip (the only part ordinarily seen in examining the insect), within which lie four thread-like hard filaments or seta? which glide over each other with an alternating motion and pierce the flesh. The blood is drawn up through the beak, which
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