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THE BIOGRAPHY OF A BEDBUG. 
II..RU8TRATED from rife. 
Part II. 
S in most other insects, the begin¬ 
ning or embryonic development of a 
bedbug takes place in an egg laid by a 
mother bedbug. The extremely flat¬ 
tened or thin body of the insect, well 
adapts it to entering the narrowest 
crevices in the joints of bedsteads, or in 
cracks in walls, etc., and in such places 
the eggs are laid. An egg is shown, 
much enlarged, in Fig. 239, November 
7. It is white in color, and it would 
take about 20 of them, placed end to 
end, to measure an inch ; they are wet 
with a kind of varnish when laid, which 
causes them to adhere to the walls of 
the cracks. About 50 eggs are laid in 
each batch ; this, is, probably, the total 
output of one mother. The baby bed¬ 
bugs make their entry into this world 
by pushing off a kind of lid at the end 
of the egg, and the empty eggshell then 
looks like a miniature, round-bottomed 
china jar, with a neat rim around the 
opening. The newly-born bug (shown 
greatly enlarged at the top of Fig. 239) 
is a very minute, whitish creature, with 
no signs of wings ; so transparent are 
the young that something of their in¬ 
ternal economy can be seen through the 
skin, and after a meal of blood, a dark- 
red spot appears in the region of the 
digestive apparatus. 
Like all other insects, the young bed¬ 
bugs or nymphs (a name given to the 
young of all true bugs, grasshoppers, 
and some other insects) grow by shed¬ 
ding off their old skins or clothes, 
thus giving place to a new elastic 
skin or suit which grows beneath the 
old one. How much would be saved 
if growing boys and girls could grow 
new suits to take the place of the 
old ones when they get too small ! A 
bedbug’s cast-off suit is shown, much 
enlarged, in the upper left-hand corner 
of Fig. 239. Notice how complete and 
neatly the job is done ; the old skin 
splits down the back a little ways, and 
the whole animal gradually crawls out 
of this crack, neatly withdrawing even 
the most slender parts like the legs and 
antennae, each separately from its own 
sheath. Such a natural aspect do these 
cast skins often have, that one some¬ 
times has to look the second time to 
make sure that they are not the living 
insects he is looking at. The little bed¬ 
bugs have to grow several, probably 
four or five, suits of clothes before they 
become fathers and mothers ; at each 
moult, they more closely approach the 
form of the adult, as a comparison of 
the newly-born and nearly full-grown 
nymphs, and the adult bedbug in the 
figure, will show. As the bug grows 
with each moult, its color deepens, and 
its skin becomes harder and less flexible; 
the usual dark reddish-brown color of 
the adults depends upon the frequency 
of their meals ; when obliged to fast for 
long periods, they become almost trans¬ 
parent and whitish. 
When the adult stage is reached, no 
further growth takes place, although 
the insect still feeds but only to sustain 
life and supply the proper materials to 
enable it to carry on the reproduction of 
the species. Under favorable conditions, 
as warmth and plenty of food, about 11 
weeks (some authors say 11 months), 
elapse from the time the egg is laid 
until the adult stage is reached. Thus, 
four generations may be produced in a 
year ; egg laying is said to take place in 
March, May, July and September. The 
nymphs, probably, cannot live long 
without food, but the adults have been 
kept in a sealed bottle for more than a 
year without food. In one instance, a 
mother was confined in a box, and six 
months later, was not only alive, but 
was surrounded by a multitude of young 
bugs, all, including their mother, being 
transparent, showing that they had, 
evidently, not had a meal. 
How does a bedbug feed ? People are 
not “bitten” by this insect. Only in¬ 
sects like caterpillars, grasshoppers, 
beetles, and some others bite ; an exam¬ 
ination of their mouth-parts will reveal 
strong, horny jaws with which solid 
particles of food are bitten off and swal¬ 
lowed. A bedbug’s mouth is built 
on an entirely different plan ; the under 
lip is drawn out into a long, gutter- 
shaped beak, within the groove of which 
lie and work four fine, bristle-like organs 
that are really analogous to the jaws of 
the biting insects. The two pictures in 
the lower right hand corner of Fig. 239 
show this beak; when at rest, it is 
folded back along the under side of the 
head, the tip resting between the bases 
of the front legs. When feeding, the 
beak projects downward at right angles 
to the head, and its tip rests on the sur¬ 
face of the skin. The beak itself is not 
forced into the flesh, but, using the beak 
as a guide and brace, the four bristle¬ 
like jaws, arranged to form a drill or 
piercer, gradually bore their way into 
the flesh. Soon a sort of muscular suc¬ 
tion pump begins work in the head, and 
our blood is drawn or pumped up along, 
or rather between, the bristles and into 
the insect’s body. Thus, bedbugs suck 
instead of bite; they can take in only 
liquid food. All of the true bugs feed 
in this way. As any one who has had 
the experience can testify, the wound 
inflicted by a bedbug’s boring apparatus 
is often exceedingly painful, accom¬ 
panied by a disagreeable burning and 
itching sensation. Probably no poison 
is instilled into the wound, the minute¬ 
ness of the puncture seemingly causing 
the intense irritation ; a prick from an 
exceedingly fine needle will often cause 
a similar sensation. 
I)o bedbugs include anything besides 
human blood in their menu ? It is a 
well-known fact that the bugs some¬ 
times absolutely swarm in houses that 
have, for a long time, been uninhabited. 
In such cases, it is obvious that they man¬ 
aged to exist without access to human 
blood ; still it does not necessarily fol¬ 
low that they have been entirely with¬ 
out food of any kind, although, as we 
have seen above, the old bugs can fast 
for long periods, but it is believed that 
the young ones cannot. Thus, there 
seems little doubl that human blood is 
not an absolute necessity of life to this 
disgusting parasite, and, perhaps, may 
be more correctly regarded as a luxury ; 
and it is quite possible that, in past ages, 
before its association with mankind, the 
bedbug may have been a purely vege¬ 
table feeder, subsisting on tne sap of 
trees. One author, writing a century 
and a half ago, declares that he fed the 
numerous families he kept, on the sap 
of wood ; using chiefly deal for the pur¬ 
pose ; from hard woods, like oak or wal¬ 
nut, or scented woods such as cedar, 
they failed to extract any nutriment, 
and died if confined with these alone. 
Several closely allied true bugs seem to 
be quite indifferent as to whether they 
are supplied with an animal or vegetable 
diet. As the surest and safest way to 
avoid bedbugs is the cultivation of 
scrupulous cleanliness, it seems probable 
that the miscellaneous material included 
under the name “dirt”, much of which 
is of organic origin, may contribute, in 
some way, to their support. 
It is a popular and wide-spread belief 
that bats and swallows bring bedbugs 
into the house. We discussed this point 
in detail some time ago in The R. N.-Y., 
bringing out the fact that there is, as 
yet, no authentic record of a genuine 
human bedbug ever having been found 
on the body of a bat or swallow, or in 
their nests. It is true that each of these 
animals is pestered by a bedbug, but in 
each case, it is a distinct species from 
the human bedbug. A microscopical 
examination of a bedbug from a bat, a 
swallow, and from man would reveal 
distinct structural differences in their 
make-up, which have caused them to be 
known to scientists under different 
specific names. There is no evidence to 
indicate that the bedbug of the bat or 
of the swallow will attack man, even 
when introduced into our houses. 
Recently, a correspondent wrote us 
that in an upper room, through which 
ran a chimney infested by swallows, 
there were many bedbugs, especially 
around the chimney. Being a model 
housekeeper, the lady was much con¬ 
cerned, and tried in vain to rid the room 
of the pests. In despair she appealed 
to me for help. A careful microscopical 
examination of one of the bugs, that she 
kindly secured for me, showed that it 
was not the genuine human bedbug, but 
was one of the swallow bedbugs. No 
complaint was made of the bugs having 
attacked the members of the family, and 
the housewife expressed her apprecia¬ 
tion for the information as follows : 
“ Hurrah ! Scientists forever ! Your 
postal was the best news l ever had ; I 
think that I would soon have had nervous 
prostration. The perverse creatures all 
eluded me but the one I send in the 
bottle ; I am fearful that it will die from 
loneliness on the road, they seem such 
sociable creatures. My husband says : 
‘ I told you so’; just like a man, was it 
not?” M. V. SLINGKRRAND. 
COOKERY LECTURE BY MRS. LEMCKE 
OAST pig was the solid foundation 
about which was to be built a 
dinner good enough and elaborate 
enough for holiday occasions. There 
were holly and mistletoe at hand, to 
show how the princely roast might be 
bedecked for Christmas use; but when 
the audience gathered, the small, white 
innocent lay in the pan in the unadorned 
beauty of clean, young pork. 
“ The pig should not weigh more than 
11 pounds,” said the lecturer. “The 
larger ones are not suitable for whole 
roasts. You may use any desired force¬ 
meat for stuffing it, or even none at all, 
as, indeed, I have done to-day. Sausage, 
oysters and chestnuts, all form delicious 
dressings. The pig is first to be rubbed 
inside and out with white pepper and 
salt. After it has lain for an hour, the 
salt is rubbed off the outside, as it 
causes the skin to blister, and thus de¬ 
tracts from the handsome appearance of 
the browned porker. When ready for 
the oven, the pig is to be covered, as I 
am now doing, with a buttered paper, 
tucked closely about it. This is to be 
renewed, later. Occasionally, I shall 
remove the paper and baste the roast 
with butter melted in water, and kept 
on the back of the stove. I place one 
cupful of water in the baking dish, to 
which more may be added if necessary.” 
The clear soup, or consomm6, which 
introduced the meal, was made by Mrs. 
Lemcke from chicken, veal and beef, 
with a little minced ham, browned. She 
stated that a very good one could be 
made from a shank bone, the soup to 
be colored with three browned onions. 
The chief point is the clearing. The 
soup is first strained, the beaten whites 
of eggs added, and the whole stirred for 
five minutes. When it boils, it is again 
strained. It should then be amber 
clear. 
The fish served was supposed to be 
fillet of sole, but was really flounder. It 
was cut into strips, or fillets, half an 
inch thick, by two wide, perhaps, washed 
and wiped. After lying half an hour in 
salt, lemon juice, onion, thyme and 
parsley, the fillets were dusted lightly 
with flour, and rolled alternately in 
beaten egg and bread crumbs. They 
were fried in equal parts of butter and 
lard, until of a light, tempting brown. 
“ The main point,” said Mrs. Lemcke, 
“ is to cook these just through, and no 
more.” These fillets were served with 
sauce tartare. 
Sauces seemed to be a strong point 
with Mrs Lemcke. Cream appeared nota¬ 
bly in all. The sauce tartare differed 
from most recipes, and was equally 
adapted, said the lecturer, to fillets or 
other fish delicacies, to salads, and even 
to cauliflower. Its preparation was 
simple, perfection depending largely on 
adding the oil very slowly. This is the 
recipe : “ Stir the yolks of two eggs to a 
■ H • I ♦ I - I - M - H - I - H - M - I - I • H • I 
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