Bed bug
![](/Images/godic/202501/04/Bed_bug,_Cimex_lectularius0102.jpg")
![Bedbug bites](/Images/godic/202501/04/Bedbugb20102.JPG")
![A scanning electron micrograph (SEM) of Cimex lectularius, digitally colorized with the insect's skin-piercing mouthparts highlighted in purple and red](/Images/godic/202501/04/CDC_11739_Cimex_lectularius_SEM0102.jpg")
![The tip of a bed bug rostrum](/Images/godic/202501/04/Budbug_0010102.jpg")
Bed bugs, bed-bugs, or bedbugs are parasitic insects of the cimicid family that feed exclusively on blood. Cimex lectularius, the common bed bug, is the best known as it prefers to feed on human blood. Other Cimex species specialize in other animals, e.g., bat bugs, such as Cimex pipistrelli (Europe), Cimex pilosellus (western US), and Cimex adjunctus (entire eastern US).