Cimex lectularius

A cosmopolitan creature is Cimex lectularius, an oval, flattened, mahogany-hued insect without wings and with mouth parts for piercing and sucking. Its principal food is human blood. Slum dwellers are acquainted with Cimex lectularius under a commoner name--bedbug.*

From England there arrived in the U. S. last week a dissertation by a Sheffield University researcher named Kenneth Mellanby on the longevity of bedbugs. By laborious laboratory experiments he had established the fact that in England's dank atmosphere, balmy to bugs, a sturdy Cimex might survive for years on end. The one condition: plenty to eat and no trouble getting it. Running after food was the prime cause of mortality among his experimental bugs. How long a really pampered bedbug could live, Researcher Mellanby's report did not tell.

* In England, simply "bug."

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