Galapagos Species Database
The Galapagos Species Database shares the information about the species from our Natural History Collections.
Cimex lectularius
Human Bed Bug
Ectoparasitic blood feeder on humans.
Domain
Eukaryota
Kingdom
Animalia
Phylum
Arthropoda
Class
Insecta
Order
Hemiptera
Suborder
Heteroptera
Superfamily
Cimicoidea
Family
Cimicidae
Genus
Cimex
Species
lectularius
Taxon category: Accepted
Origin: Introduced - established
Year of first record: 1925
Mode of introduction: Accidental
Introduction Pathway: Stowaway
Subpathway: Hitchhiker on transport vehicles/cargo
Introduced status: Human dependent
Invasive status: Unlikely to become invasive
Map of specimen collection localities or observation records for this species in our collections database.
Distribution: Floreana, Santa Cruz
- Peck, S.B. (2001) Smaller Orders of Insects of the Galápagos Islands, Ecuador: Evolution, Ecology, and Diversity. NRC Research Press, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada, 278 pp.
- Peck, S.B. Heraty, J., Landry, B. & Sinclair, B.J. (1998) Introduced insect fauna of an oceanic archipelago: The Galápagos Islands, Ecuador. Am. Entomol. 44: 218-237.
- Froeschner, R.C. (1985) Synopsis of the Heteroptera or True Bugs of the Galápagos Islands. Smithsonian Contributions to Zoology 407: 1-84.
- Linsley, E.G. Usinger, R.L. (1966) Insects of the Galápagos Islands. Proceedings of the California Academy of Sciences Fourth Series 33(7): 113-196.
You are welcome to download and use the information found in this page, acknowledging its source.
This page should be cited as follows:
"Galapagos Species Database, Cimex lectularius", dataZone. Charles Darwin Foundation, https://datazone.darwinfoundation.org/en/checklist/?species=11205. Accessed 14 June 2025.