Demographics of bed bug, Cimex lectularius L., aggregations collected from field populations

Previous population samples of the common bed bug, Cimex lectularius L., have displayed a 1:1 sex-ratio suggesting females are unable to use aggregations and harborages to hide from males and traumatic insemination, which can be harmful to females. We show that, when a sampled population is analyzed at the aggregation level, aggregations are biased, suggesting that females are able to hide from males within harborages. Females found in female-biased aggregations, especially those on furniture where no males were present, had a high number of mating scars suggesting the possibility that the females moved away from main aggregations to avoid males and traumatic insemination.