This little guy is Cimex lectularius, the common bed bug. They’re small, bloodsucking insects that hide in tiny crevices in homes by day, and come out at night to prey on sleeping humans. Any one bed bug doesn’t eat very much —only one meal a week, on average. But they breed like crazy: mature females can lay five new eggs each day over their four-month lifetime, so before you even know they’re there, a couple of bugs can turn into a large infestation.
Photo from Environmental Health and Safety, Harvard University.
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