BEDBUGS 



347 



head or thorax. Inside this tube are biting parts mandibles and max- 

 illae. The metamorphosis in this order is not marked. 



They have no palpi. The lower lip or labium or beak has its 

 edges curved to form the tube and it is only covered by the labrum at 

 its base. With the Diptera the labrum goes into the formation of the 

 sucking tube. The mandibles and maxillae are bristle-like structures 

 serrated at the tip. The mandibles are grooved internally and form 

 when apposed a tube for blood. 



The Acanthiidae 



These have a flattened body, a three-jointed rostrum, and four- 

 jointed antennae. Their wings are atrophied. 



FIG. 83. Fleas, bedbugs and ticks. A, Lcemopsylla cheopis; B, P. irritans; 

 C, Ctenopsylla musculi; D, bedbug; E, cross section of rostrum of Ornithodorus; 

 F. longitudinal section of Ornithodorus. 



Acanthia lectularia (Cimex lectularius). This is the cosmopolitan bedbug. 

 It measures about K by M inch (5 by 3 mm.). It is of a brownish-red color. 

 The most conspicuous feature of the bedbug is the long proboscis continuous with 

 the dorsal integument of the head and tucked under the ventral surface. There are 

 two prominent eyes and two four-jointed antennae. There are eight abdominal 

 segments. The bedbug lives in cracks and crevices, especially about beds. It is 

 said they can migrate from house to house. At any rate, they are frequently trans- 



