Bedbugs Could Have Been the First Urban Pest to Plague Human Cities, New Study Suggests

Bedbugs Could Have Been the First Urban Pest to Plague Human Cities, New Study Suggests

Scientists examined the genomes of two bedbug lineages to trace how their population sizes have changed over time

Bedbug numbers soared when humans left caves and moved to cities, scientists find

Scientists believe the bedbugs were humanity’s first pests

Bed bugs boomed as the world’s first cities did

Genomic evidence suggests that the bloodsuckers might have been among the first urban insect pests. Genomic evidence suggests that the bloodsuckers might have been among the first urban insect pests.

Bedbugs may have been one of the first urban pests

Common bedbugs experienced a dramatic jump in population size about 13,000 years ago, around the time humans congregated in the first cities.

Bedbugs may be the first urban pest

A new study of the insects’ genomes traces their success back to early civilization

A genetic analysis of 19 Czech bedbugs revealed that these resistant parasites were on the verge of extinction during the last glaciation, but they resurfaced with the rise of the first cities. The study, published in Biology Letters, shows that while bat bedbugs continued to decline, those associated with humans multiplied their population 8,000 years ago, coinciding with the development of urban settlements such as Çatalhöyük in Turkey.The fir…