A field study of mating between two species of bedbug in northern KwaZulu, South Africa.
The interspecific cross-mating of female Cimex lectularius Linnaeus with male Cimex hemipterus (Fabricius) results in a visible mark developing in the female ectospermalege. This mark has been used to record the frequency of mating between female C.lectularius and male C.hemipterus in sympatric wild populations in a DDT-sprayed area of northern KwaZulu, South Africa. A high percentage (11/16 = 69%) of C.lectularius females were marked, showing that these two species mate in nature.
Walpole
D E
DE
Department of Tropical Pathology, School of Pathology, South African Institute for Medical Research, Johannesburg.
Newberry
K
K
D000818:Animals; D001511:Bedbugs / Q000502:physiology*; D005260:Female; D008297:Male; D009752:Nutritional Status; D012726:Sexual Behavior, Animal; D013019:South Africa