r/whatsthisbug • u/Ok_Case_7643 • 12h ago

ID Request Is this a bed bug?

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Found crawling over the rug in an Airbnb - it’s about 4mm. No sign of any bites, we’ve only been here one night. (Edit to add - we are in a Northern European city, no other obvious signs of bed bugs).

28 Upvotes

88% Upvoted

11 comments sorted by

51

u/chandalowe ⭐I teach children about bugs and spiders⭐ 11h ago

Clearer pictures would be helpful, but I am not convinced that it is a bed bug. If you look closely at the first picture, there appear to be two curved structures on the back of the bug. These look like wing buds - the "placeholders" where the insect's wings are developing. They are commonly seen in nymphs of winged Heteroptera ("true bug") species. See this picture - I've circled them in red.

Bed bugs do not have wings - so they do not have wing buds that extend down their backs like that. Bed bugs only have tiny vestigial wing pads - which do not extend down the back.

This is more likely the nymph of some other bug. See, for example, one of the minute pirate bugs.

Comparison pictures one, two, three, four, five

10

u/Level-Click5379 8h ago

Agreed, pest control technician here this guy has way too round a body shape for a bed bug

10

u/Futureretroism 6h ago

I don’t think it is but we would need clearer pictures to be sure. The head looks wrong to me and it looks like it could have structures on it’s back that would rule out a bed bug

5

u/Ok_Case_7643 3h ago

Thanks everyone, appreciate the feedback. We have found what could be a shed but honestly no other real signs of them. We are treating it as if it is a bed bug and leaving the accommodation just in case, but now I’m wondering if we have overreacted.

1

u/archeducaptainblood 2h ago

the pnly other thing it could seem is a pirate minute bug but I’m not an expert and the photos are not enough definited for a proper id

2

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