Bed bug life cycle
Bedbug life cycle usually takes around 40 days for a bed bug to complete. This can, however, take longer if the food source is limited.
The bed bug’s life cycle consists of three main stages which are:
- egg- or larva
- nymph
- adult -Grown bedbug
Bed bug eggs
Like other insects, bed bug eggs mark the first stage of their life cycle. The eggs are often laid singly or in clusters and are placed within crevices and tight cracks.
Did you know if a female bed bug has access to a supply of blood it will continuously lay eggs and can lay up to 500 eggs in its lifetime!?
What do bed bug eggs look like?
Bed bug eggs are the size of a pinhead and are milky white in colour. They are oval in shape, resembling a grain of rice. Bed bug eggs can be marked with an eye spot when they are more than 5 days old.
Bed bug nymphs
Bed bug nymphs go through five instars (stages) during their growth into adulthood. At each stage they moult, shedding their exoskeleton in order to grow.
Bed bug nymphs need to feed at least once before each moult and process to the next instar and each instar lasts between 4-8 days before moulting into their adult stage.
What do bed bug nymphs look like?
Bed bug nymphs start their life with a yellowish white colour and slowly turn into the reddish-brown colour that you would usually associate with bed bugs.
Besides their colouring, bed bug nymphs broadly resemble adult bed bugs. However, they do have thinner cuticles. Bed bug Pest Control in Dubai is major complaint from residents
Due to their light colouring their gut is visible as a dark region on their abdomen. However this can only be seen if the bed bug nymph has recently eaten. If this isn’t the case than bed bug nymphs can be difficult to spot being nearly invisible to the human eye.
