Talk:Cimex antennatus

Request edit[edit]

This edit request by an editor with a conflict of interest has now been answered.

This is not a species of bed bug that I am aware of. Most likely it is a species of bat bug. If it is a species of Bed Bug it certainly is not common. There are only 2 species of "true" bed bugs that I know of: Cimex lectularius "The Bed Bug" & Cimex hemipterus "The Tropical Bed bug." Most others that attack people are bat bugs or bird bugs, where the human is not the primary host. Where did the author get his information and did is cross reference with 2 other independent sources?

The sources check out and it doesn't seem to be a bat bug or a bird bug. If you can find sources, though, that state that the primary host are bats or birds, please resubmit the request. In the meantime, I ask for folks at Wikipedia talk:WikiProject Insects to take a look at your question.--CaroleHenson (talk) 15:32, 18 March 2015 (UTC)[reply]

It is both, apparently: it is chiefly a parasite of bats, but can also parasitise humans. --Stemonitis (talk) 17:00, 18 March 2015 (UTC)[reply]

Thanks so much, Stemonitis for jumping in, finding a source, and making the edit! That was a nice surprise.--CaroleHenson (talk) 10:43, 19 March 2015 (UTC)[reply]

This edit request by an editor with a conflict of interest was declined. The changes suggested removing content that is well-cited or where sources exist.

Bat bugs, poultry bugs, swift bugs, swallow bugs, martin bugs..., all will parasitize humans if the primary host is not available. They are named for their primary host. Therefore since the primary host for "Cimex antennatus" are bats, they are "Bat Bugs" NOT "Bed Bugs." For a Cimicinaen to be called a "Bed Bug" humans must be the primary host. Please correct the article as people are starting to site it saying there 3 types of bed bugs. There are only two: the "The Common Bed Bug" and "The Tropical Bed Bug." Thanks Adam

P.S "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)."http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bed_bug" Citation #3 reads as follows "Bat bugs are visually indistinguishable from bed bugs, and may also occasionally feed on human hosts."

"Bat bugs are blood-sucking insect parasites that feed primarily on the blood of bats. The name has been applied to members of the family Cimicidae (e.g. Cimex lectularius, Afrocimex constrictus) and also to members of the family Polyctenidae.[1] Bat bugs are closely related to bed bugs, and are so similar in appearance that they are often mistaken for bed bugs. Microscopic examination is needed to distinguish them. Bat bugs will also bite humans if given the opportunity.[2]" "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bat_bug"

So either this is a bat bug or those articles are wrong (and they are not wrong).

The sources say that cimex antennatus is from the cimicidae family / bed bugs - and I made an edit adding cimicidae to the article. That's what I'm seeing and content is based upon information from secondary sources. If Stemonitis could comment, that would be helpful.--CaroleHenson (talk) 20:02, 25 March 2015 (UTC)[reply]

I'm not sure it makes much sense to be too dogmatic about things. One person may define "bed bug" as something with a human primary host, while someone else may quite reasonably include anything from that family that bites people in their beds. Clearly there is some vagueness to the term, even if some individuals have strong opinions about what it should be used to mean. In any case, the facts of the matter don't seem to be in doubt. The source that I added (not the best, but probably good enough in the circumstances) is unequivocal that the primary host of C. antennarius is some kind of bat, and also that it sometimes parasitises humans. These are the facts that we need to convey. I don't think it's unreasonable to call such an animal a "bed bug", as long as we make it clear that its primary hosts are something non-human. (Curiously, all the explicit definitions I have found define "bed bug" or "bedbug" as either (a) anything in Cimex or (b) exclusively C. lectularius, rather than (c) C. lectularius + C. hemipterus, to the exclusion of all other Cimex species.) --Stemonitis (talk) 21:38, 25 March 2015 (UTC)[reply]

Thanks, Stemonitis! I've closed the request as being asked to removed sourced info, as what seemed to be the closest of the choice of reasons - since it is called a "bedbug" in the cited sources.--CaroleHenson (talk) 22:07, 25 March 2015 (UTC)[reply]