In recent years, bedbugs have become a global issue, invading our sheets, trains and cinemas. But do you know the life cycle of these insects? In fact, they're capable of reproducing at astonishing speed, thanks to their pronounced stamina...
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Bed bugs, insects we could do without
Bedbugs have been the talk of the town ever since specimens were spotted all over the world in very public spaces likes high-speed or move theatres. Considered invasive, these bed bugs measuring just a few millimeters are said to have been responsible for 72,000 medical consultations between 2019 and 2020, reports the French Museum of Natural History. According to an Ipsos survey, nearly 7% of the French population is affected by them.
In short, in France, as elsewhere, we don't like them. Neither them, nor the itching they cause! There is, however, one aspect they are 'amazing' at.
Bed bugs have sex hundreds of times a day
200 - the number of times an adult bedbug can have intercourse per day. There's no other word for it: bed bugs have priapism (a 'disorder in which the penis maintains a prolonged, rigid erection', according to the National Institutes of Health) and their sexuality is exacerbated.
But they're not just horny 24 hours a day, bedbugs are also violent in bed (well, in our beds). With these insects, the notion of consent is absent and to force his partner into intercourse, the male uses his pointed sex to penetrate just about anything and inseminate his seed wherever he pleases... be it legs, head or other. And that's not all.
The equivalent of several liters of sperm
To ensure offspring, bedbugs go for quantity rather than quality. According to Safelit:
The male releases an enormous quantity of sperm! Proportionally, that's 30 liters of sperm for one human!
An insatiable breeder, this insect literally jumps on anything that moves. Female bedbugs, but not only! Safelit adds:
It's estimated that 20% of intercourse takes place with other insects, and 50% is homosexual. Only 30% of couplings are male-female!
No wonder their population is growing exponentially when we let them settle in peacefully...
This article has been translated from Gentside France
Read more:
⋙ This killer insect set to invade the UK and it has already been seen in several locations
⋙ After the Asian hornet, yet another dangerous insect could invade the UK
Sources:
Musée d'histoire naturelle: INSECTES INVASIFS : DES ESPÈCES EXOTIQUES ENVAHISSANTES
National Institutes of Health: Priapism
Safelit: Découvrez la sexualité débordante et originale des punaises de lit
