tJiat spread Disease. 



37 



BED-BUGS AND DISEASE. 



In one of tlie two sloping-faced table-cases in the middle of 

 the floor of the Hall is a specimen and an enlarged, coloured 

 drawing (x 20) of a female bed-bug, Cimcx or Clinocoris Icctu- 

 larius Linn. ; and under the microscope at the entrance to Bay I 

 are shown specimens (slides L and M) of this species and the 

 bed-bug of tropical Africa and the Oriental Eegion, Clinocoris 

 rotundatus Sign. 



Clinocoris lectularius (fig. 11), although commonly termed the 

 European bed-bug, is a parasite which h\ the facilities for travel 



Fig. 11. — Common Bed-Bug, 

 Clinocoris lectularius, male, X 10. 



now possible has been spread all over the temperate and tropical 

 parts of the world. It differs from C. rotundatus by its relatively 

 broader abdomen ; the prothorax also is broader, and the lateral 

 lobes project more forward, and almost reach the eyes. The form of 

 the mouth-parts of a bed-bug are seen in slide L. The labium 

 has the form of a segmented proboscis ; the four bristles seen 

 projecting from the front of the head are the two maxillae and 

 two mandibles, which in the living insect lie within a groove in 

 the labium. 



The common bed-bug has been suspected of can-jing the virus 

 of various diseases, such as leprosy, typhus and relapsing fever, 



