Cimex lectularius Linnaeus

Anderson Co., Pendleton, 2 November 1961, ex under wallpaper, coll. J.A. Payne; Charleston Co., Charleston, June 2003, ex hotel bed; Cherokee Co., Gaffney, 15 August 1939, coll. L. Sparks; Chesterfield Co., Partick, 21 July 2000, ex sofa and loveseat, coll. Klaum; Florence Co., Florence, 19 March 1962, ex bed, coll. V.M. Kirk; Greenville Co., Greenville, 1981; Oconee, Walhalla, 24 October 1961; Orangeburg Co., Springfield, 19 December 1995, ex bed, coll. B. Barr; Pickens Co., Clemson, 25 January 1995, coll. A. Taursome; Clemson, 11 April 1944, ex chicken, coll. A. Anderson.

The human bed bug, C. lectularius, has a historic presence in South Carolina. Ancillary reports indicated that this ectoparasite was suppressed in the 1940’s following the widespread use of DDT. However, this insect remains a pest in South Carolina. Relatively recent collections dating from 1995 to 2003 indicate that C. lectularius might be more common now in some localities than in the past. Cimex lectularius is not known to transmit human pathogens, but it has been implicated in the potential transmission of over 41 pathogens of humans including Hepatitis B virus (Wills et al. 1977; Ryckman 1981; Blow et al. 2001).