A closely allied species is a parasitic messmate in the nests of the 

 common cliff or eaves swallow in this country, and it often happens 

 that the nests of such hirds are fairly alive with these vermin. The 

 latter not infrequently gain access to houses and cause the housekeeper 

 considerable alarm. At least three species occur also in England, all 

 very closely reseml)ling the bedbug. One of these is found in pigeon 

 cotes, another in the nests of the English martin, and a third in places 

 frequented by bats. Wiiat seems to l)e the true bedliug, or at best a 

 mere variety, occurs occasionally in poultry houses.-^ 



The most characteristic feature of the insect is the very distinct and 

 disagreeable odor which it exhales, an odor well known to all who have 

 been familiar with it as the "buggy" odor. This odor is by no means 

 limited to the bedbug, but is characteristic of most plant bugs also. 

 The common chinch bug affecting small grains and the squash bugs all 

 possess this odor, and it is quite as pungent with these plant-feeding 

 forms as with the human parasite. The possession of this odoi'. dis- 



■sHr^is 









\ M 



Fic. 2.— BedbuR {('hne.r lectiilarius^: Egg and newly hatched larva: a, larva 

 from below: 6, larva from above: c. claw; d. egg-; f. Iiair or spine of larva, 

 (ireatly enlarged, natin'iil size nf larva and egg indicated by hair lines (^original i. 



agreeable as it is, is, after all, a most fortunate circumstance, as it is of 

 considerable assistance in detecting the presence of these vermin. The 

 odor comes from glands, situated in various parts of the body, which 

 secrete a clear, oily, volatile liquid. With the plant-feeding forms this 

 odor is certainl}' a means of protection against insectivorous hirds, 

 rendering these insects obnoxious oi- distasteful to their feathered ene- 

 mies. With the bedbug, on the other hand, it is probably an illustration 

 of a very common phenomenon among animals, i. e., the persistence 

 of a characteristic which is no longer of any especial value to the pos- 

 sessor. The natural enemies of true bugs, against which this odor 

 serves as a means of protection, in the conditions under which the bed- 

 bug lives, are kept away from it ; and the roach, which sometimes feeds 

 on bedltugs, is evidently not deterred by the odoi'. while the common 



I Insect Life, Vol. VI, 



IC.i;, Oshoi'i 



