Common bed bug
Cimex lectularius Linnaeus, 1758
Status not recordedinsects
The common bed bug (Cimex lectularius) is a species in the family Cimicidae, order Hemiptera. Source checklists list it for 1 country: Australia.
Quick facts about the common bed bug
- Weight
- Not recorded
- Length
- Not recorded
- Lifespan
- Not recorded
- Main food
- Not recorded
- Habitat
- Not recorded
- Young per litter or clutch
- Not recorded
- Conservation status
- Not recorded
- Countries on record
- 1 countrysrc for Countries on record
Where does the common bed bug live?
Countries where Catalogue of Life checklists list the species. Many checklists carry no country data, so the list is often incomplete. It is not a range map.
The common bed bug is listed for 1 country.
- Listed
- Not listed
The same countries as a list
Listed by: ITIS (scope: global), through the Catalogue of Life.
What is the common bed bug?
Cimex lectularius, the common bedbug, is a species of Cimicidae. An ectoparasite, its primary hosts are humans. It is one of the world's major "nuisance pests".
Although bedbugs can be infected with at least 28 human pathogens, no studies have found that the insects are capable of transmitting any of these to humans. They have been found with methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) and with vancomycin-resistant Enterococcus faecium (VRE), but the significance of this is still unknown.
Investigations into potential transmission of HIV, MRSA, hepatitis B, hepatitis C, and hepatitis E have not shown that bedbugs can spread these diseases. However, there is some evidence that arboviruses may be transmissible.
Bedbug bites (cimicosis) may lead to a range of skin manifestations from no visible effects to prominent blisters. Effects include skin rashes, psychological effects and allergic symptoms.
From the Wikipedia article “Cimex lectularius” (en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Cimex_lectularius&oldid=1362267869), by Wikipedia contributors, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0 (creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0). This block is kept separate from our own text.
Is the common bed bug endangered?
No conservation assessment is recorded for this species in our sources. That is not the same as being safe: it has not been matched to an assessment.
How is the common bed bug classified?
- kingdomAnimalia
- phylumArthropoda
- classInsecta
- orderHemiptera
- familyCimicidae
- genusCimex
- SpeciesCimex lectularius Linnaeus, 1758
Synonyms Cimex lectularis
Other names and names in other languages (95)
- B. flatEnglish
- Bed bugEnglish
- BuggEnglish
- CimicesEnglish
- Heavy dragonEnglish
- Human bedbugEnglish
- Mahogany-flatEnglish
- Norfolk HowardEnglish
- Red armyEnglish
- Red coatEnglish
- Scarlet RamblerEnglish
- True bed bugEnglish
- Wall louseEnglish
- WeeluisAfrikaans
- بق الفراشArabic
- ChinchaAragonese
- bei'teiArapaho
- chincha les camesAsturian
- Креватна дървеницаBulgarian
- PampijitBanjar
- ছারপোকাBangla
- Xinxa domèsticaCatalan
- štěnice domácíCzech
- VæggedyrDanish
- Almindelig væggelusDanish
- Menneskets væggelusDanish
- SengetægeDanish
- TapethøneDanish
- VæggelusDanish
- VæggetøjDanish
- HauswanzeGerman
- BettwanzeGerman
- ΚοριόςGreek
- chinche de camaSpanish
- VoodilutikasEstonian
- ساسPersian
- lutikkaFinnish
- lúsaveggjatekaFaroese
- Punaise de litFrench
- punaise des litsFrench
- Míol leapaIrish
- פשפשייםHebrew
- פשפש המיטהHebrew
- Obična stjenicaCroatian
- Kandarufikahts
- ágyi poloskaHungarian
- Kutu busukIndonesian
- CimoIdo
- VeggjalúsIcelandic
- Cimice dei lettiItalian
- トコジラミJapanese
- ナンキンムシJapanese
- TinggiJavanese
- საწოლის ბაღლინჯოGeorgian
- BiTyap
- 빈대Korean
- ЧӀитӀLuxembourgish
- PlakāLivonian
- Patalinė blakėLithuanian
- Gultas blaktsLatvian
- മൂട്ടMalayalam
- PijatMalay
- ကြမ်းပိုးBurmese
- WóósitsʼílíNavajo
- veggdyrNorwegian Bokmål
- veggedyrNorwegian Bokmål
- BedwantsDutch
- PlatluisDutch
- Pluskwa domowaPolish
- Percevejo-das-camasPortuguese
- Ploșniță de patRomanian
- Клоп постельныйRussian
- Постельный клопRussian
- luhtátNorthern Sami
- luhtetNorthern Sami
- ploštica posteľnáSlovak
- posteljna stenicaSlovenian
- Zajedavske steniceSlovenian
- TumbilaSundanese
- vägglusSwedish
- மூட்டைப் பூச்சிTamil
- నల్లిTelugu
- เรือดThai
- TagtabitTurkmen
- TahtakurusuTurkish
- tsitsiriTswana
- TshitshidiTswana
- Блощиця домоваUkrainian
- Блощиця ліжковаUkrainian
- Блощиця постільнаUkrainian
- Постільний клопUkrainian
- KodiludegVenda
- Họ RệpVietnamese
- 臭虫科Chinese
- 溫帶床蝨Chinese
Catalogue of LifeWikipediaiNaturalistTAXREFTAXREFWikidataWoRMS
Relatives of the common bed bug
Other species in the same genus Cimex.
Tropical bed bug
Cimex hemipterus
Eastern bat bug
Cimex adjunctus
Bat bug
Cimex pilosellus
European bat bug
Cimex pipistrelli
Pigeon bug
Cimex columbarius
CompareCommon bed bug vs Tropical bed bugCommon bed bug vs Eastern bat bugCommon bed bug vs Bat bugCommon bed bug vs European bat bug
Common questions
Answered only where our data holds the answer.
Where does the common bed bug live?
Catalogue of Life checklists list the common bed bug for 1 country: Australia. Checklist coverage is uneven, so the true range may be wider.
What kind of animal is the common bed bug?
The common bed bug (Cimex lectularius) belongs to the family Cimicidae in the order Hemiptera.
Sources and how to cite this page
Data as of 2026-11-11. How this page is put together.
- Catalogue of Life eXtended Release · CC BY 4.0 · 2026-10-16 XR
Catalogue of Life (2026). Catalogue of Life eXtended Release, version 2026-10-16 XR. Catalogue of Life Foundation, Amsterdam, Netherlands. https://doi.org/10.48580/dgzlf - Wikimedia Commons · per file (CC0 / public domain / CC BY green, CC BY-SA amber, anything else not displayed) · 2026-11-11
Wikimedia Commons contributors. Wikimedia Commons. https://commons.wikimedia.org (each file credited to its author under its own licence). - Wikidata · CC0 1.0 · 2026-11-11
Wikidata contributors. Wikidata. https://www.wikidata.org (data retrieved via the Wikidata Query Service). - Wikipedia (English) · CC BY-SA 4.0 · 2026-11-11
Wikipedia contributors. Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. https://en.wikipedia.org (text under CC BY-SA 4.0; each block names its article and revision).
Embed a card for this animal on your own site
Copy this code. The card shows the photo with its credit, key facts and a link back to this page.
CreatureData. (2026). Common bed bug (Cimex lectularius). Retrieved from https://creaturedata.com/animals/common-bed-bug
“Common bed bug (Cimex lectularius).” CreatureData, 2026, https://creaturedata.com/animals/common-bed-bug.
@misc{common_bed_bug_2026,
title = {Common bed bug (Cimex lectularius)},
author = {{CreatureData}},
year = {2026},
url = {https://creaturedata.com/animals/common-bed-bug},
note = {Data as of 2026-11-11}
}