Mating and starvation modulate feeding and host-seeking responses in female bed bugs, Cimex lectularius

Abstract

Adaptive insect behavior is subject to modulation by internal physiological states and external social contexts to enhance reproductive fitness and survival. The common bed bug, Cimex lectularius is an obligate hematophagous ectoparasite that requires host blood for growth, development, and reproduction. We investigated how mating, starvation and social factors such as harassment by males affect host-seeking, blood feeding, oviposition, and survival of female bed bugs. The percentage of females that fed and the amount of blood they ingested were greater in mated females (90-100%) than in unmated females (48-60%). Mating state also modulated the females orientation towards human skin odor in an olfactometer; more mated (69%) than unmated (23%) females responded to human odors. The response rate of unmated females (60%) to human odor increased with longer starvation period, while the opposite pattern was observed in mated females (20%). Although fecundity after a single blood meal was unaffected by long or short residence with males, females subjected to frequent copulations had lower survivorship and lifespan than females subjected to males for only 24 h. Taken together, these results indicate that behaviors are adaptively expressed based on the internal physiological state to maximize survival and reproductive fitness.