C. pilosellus and C. pipistrella primarily infest bats, while Haematosiphon inodora, a species of North America, primarily infests poultry. Evolution
Cimicidae, the ancestor of modern bed bugs, first emerged approximately 115 million years ago, more than 30 million years before bats—their previously presumed initial host—first appeared. From unknown ancestral hosts, a variety of different lineages evolved which specialized in either bats or birds. The common (C. lectularius) and tropical bed bug (C. hemipterus), split 40 million years before Homo evolution. Humans became hosts to bed bugs through host specialist extension (rather than switching) on three separate occasions. History
Bed bugs were first mentioned in ancient Greece as early as 400 BC, and later by Aristotle. Plinys Natural History, first published circa AD 77 in Rome, claimed bed bugs had medicinal value in treating ailments such as snake bites and ear infections. Belief in the medicinal use of bed bugs persisted until at least the 18th century, when Guettard recommended their use in the treatment of hysteria.Bed bugs were also mentioned in Germany in the 11th century, in France in the 13th century, and in England in 1583, though they remained rare in England until 1670. Some in the 18th century believed bed bugs had been brought to London with supplies of wood to rebuild the city after the Great Fire of London (1666).
Resistance to pesticides has increased significantly in recent decades. The carbamate insecticide propoxur is highly toxic to bed bugs, but it has potential toxicity to children exposed to it, and the US Environmental Protection Agency has been reluctant to approve it for indoor use. Boric acid, occasionally applied as a safe indoor insecticide, is not effective against bed bugs because they do not groom. Epidemiology
Bed bugs occur around the world. Before the 1950s about 30% of houses in the United States had bedbugs. This percentage has since fallen, which is believed to be partly due to the use of DDT to kill cockroaches. The invention of the vacuum cleaner and simplification of furniture design may have also played a role in the decrease. Others believe it might simply be the cyclical nature of the organism.However, rates of infestation in developed countries have increased dramatically since the 1980s. This is thought to be due to greater foreign travel, increased immigration from the developing world to the developed world, more frequent exchange of second-hand furnishings among homes, a greater focus on control of other pests, resulting in neglect of bed bug countermeasures, and increasing bedbug resistance to pesticides. Lower cockroach populations due to insecticide use may have aided bed bugs resurgence, since cockroaches are known to sometimes predate them.