title: Changes in the relative frequency of occurrence of infestations of two sympatric species of bedbug in northern Natal and KwaZulu, South Africa.
abstract: Between 1983 and 1988 the frequency of Cimex hemipterus infestations relative to C. lectularius increased near the Mozambique border and around main roads in the Nkundusi-Mfekayi area of South Africa (28 degrees 15'S; 30 degrees 23' E). In areas where both species were common, the observed number of doubly-infested huts equalled the expected. A hut infested by both bedbug species showed a significant change to a higher proportion of C. hemipterus in the adult population over 2 months. The general increase in C. hemipterus is thought to be due to the large influx of migrants into South Africa in recent years.
authors.affiliation: National Institute for Tropical Diseases, Private Bag.
authors.forename: K
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Newberry
authors.forename: Z M
authors.initials: ZM
authors.lastname: Mchunu
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001511:Bedbugs; D006798:Housing; D013019:South Africa; D013045:Species Specificity