Kauaʻi record · KCA-IA-00661
Common Bed Bug
Cimex lectularius
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About Common Bed Bug
Common Bed Bug (Cimex lectularius) is a member of Cimicidae in the order Hemiptera. Its recorded origin status on Kauaʻi is introduced / synanthropic.
Common Bed Bug (Cimex lectularius) is documented from Kauaʻi. Bed bugs are wing-reduced blood-feeding true bugs with incomplete metamorphosis. Nymphs resemble smaller paler adults. On Kauaʻi, observations are most useful when they record harborages, adult/nymph/egg stages, infestation setting and verified identification. Where island-specific host, prey, breeding-site, abundance, or seasonal information is not yet firmly documented, those details should remain tied to direct specimens and field observations rather than inferred from populations elsewhere.
Common Bed Bug (Cimex lectularius) is a synanthropic introduced insect documented on Kauaʻi.
Kauaʻi occurrence evidence: Hawaii Biological Survey documented a treated bedbug infestation in Līhuʻe in 1996.
The cited occurrence evidence does not by itself establish current abundance or population trend on Kauaʻi.
Life cycle
Egg; immature/nymphal stages; adult; no pupa.
Habitat
Sheltered cracks and crevices near vertebrate hosts.
Food and ecological role
Vertebrate blood.
Reproduction
Adults mate and females lay eggs in harborages; nymphs require blood meals between molts.
Movement
Wingless; dispersal is by walking and passive transport in belongings or structures.
Ecosystem role
Ectoparasitic blood feeder.
Threats and impacts
Human-health significance is primarily biting, allergic responses and infestation burden rather than established disease transmission.
Monitoring
Record harborages, adult/nymph/egg stages, infestation setting and verified identification.
Names and classification
- Scientific name
- Cimex lectularius
- Common names
- Common Bed Bug
- Family
- Cimicidae
- Order
- Hemiptera
- Record type
- species
Kauaʻi occurrence and status
- Kauaʻi occurrence
- Documented synanthropic occurrence
- Origin
- Introduced / synanthropic
- Conservation status
- Not assessed
Process and seasonal context
- Seasonal description
- Common Bed Bug (Cimex lectularius) is a member of Cimicidae in the order Hemiptera. Its recorded origin status on Kauaʻi is introduced / synanthropic.