A field study of mating between two species of bedbug in northern KwaZulu, South Africa |
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| Authors: | DEBRA E WALPOLE K NEWBERRY |
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| Institution: | Department of Tropical Pathology, School of Pathology, South African Institute for Medical Research, Johannesburg. |
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| Abstract: | The interspecific cross-mating of female Cimex lectularius Linnaeus with male Cimex hemipterus (Fabricius) results in a visible mark developing in the female ectospermalege. This mark has been used to record the frequency of mating between female C.lectularius and male C.hemipterus in sympatric wild populations in a DDT-sprayed area of northern KwaZulu, South Africa. A high percentage (11/16 = 69%) of C.lectularius females were marked, showing that these two species mate in nature. |
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| Keywords: | Cimex hemipterus Cimex lectularius bedbugs interspecific mating hybridization KwaZulu South Africa |
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