Morphological observation experiment of bedbugs

Summary

This experiment is from the official website of Parasitology, School of Medicine, Shandong University.

Operation method

Morphological observation experiment of bedbugs

Principle

The life history of bedbugs is an imperfect metamorphosis, divided into three periods: egg, worm and adult. The adult body is dorsoventrally flattened, ovoid, reddish-brown, with reduced wings. There are temperate bedbugs and tropical bedbugs that suck human blood, and it has not been proven whether they can transmit human diseases.

Move

I. Observe for yourself:

Adult slide specimen: body dorsoventrally flattened, oval, reddish-brown, wings have been degraded, males are slightly smaller than females, the body is divided into three parts: head, thorax and abdomen.

Head: a pair of prominent compound eyes on both sides, no single eye. Pair of antennae, composed of 4 segments. Stinging mouthparts.

Thorax: divided into three parts: anterior, middle and posterior thorax. The prothorax is the largest, with the middle of the dorsal plate elevated, and the anterior margin with varying degrees of depression. Ventrally there are three pairs of feet, and in the mesothoracic ventral surface there is an opening of the odor gland in front of the basal segment of the hind foot. Postthoracic dorsal plate largely covered by wing bases.

Abdomen: It consists of 10 segments, the terminal two segments forming the genitalia. The fifth abdominal segment of the female has a herringbone-shaped depression on the right side of the posterior margin of the ventral surface, called Berlese's organ, which is the mating organ. The male has a sickle-shaped copulatory apparatus at the end of the abdomen. When observing adult slide specimens, note the difference in morphology between the two species: the temperate bedbug (Cimex lectularius) has a deeper prothoracic depression, while the tropical bedbug (Cimex hemipterus) has a shallower prothoracic depression.

II. lectularius:

Morphological Characteristics of Stages in the Life History of Bed Bugs

1. Adult slide specimens: (as above)

2. larval slide specimen: similar to the adult but smaller, with immature reproductive organs.

3. Egg slide specimen: oblong, white, about 1 mm long, with a reticulated shell, covered at the front and slightly to one side.

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