Afrocimex constrictus, also called the African bat bug, is an insect parasite of Egyptian fruit bats in East African bat caves. Population sizes can comprise millions of individuals and in a cave there can be one to 15 bugs per bat. It was estimated that adult African bat bugs feed approximately once per week thus withdrawing 1-28 microlitre blood per day per bat.[1]
As in many other cimicids, Afrocimex constrictus reproduce through traumatic insemination. During mating, the male pierces the female's abdomen with his genitals, and ejaculates into her body cavity, into a special organ called the spermalege. While females do have external genitalia, they are used for egg laying but not for mating.[2]Afrocimex constrictus males also pierce and inseminate other males. Male-male stabbings were originally probably harmful to males and so it was speculated that male-male stabbings were the reason that Afrocimex constrictus males have - like females - evolved a spermalege. The male spermalege looks similar but not identical to the typical female spermalege and males receive fewer stabbings than females.[3] In one cave around 80% of the females were found to mimic the male version of the spermalege and such females receive fewer stabbings from males than females that have the original spermalege type.[3]
References
↑ K. Reinhardt, R. Naylor, M. Siva-Jothy, Estimating the mean abundance and feeding rate of a temporal ectoparasite in the wild: Afrocimex constrictus (Heteroptera: Cimicidae). International Journal for Parasitology, Vol 37, pp. 937-942, July 2007
↑ R. L. Usinger, Monograph of the Cimicidae (Hemiptera-Heteroptera). The Thomas Say Foundation Vol 7, Entomological Society of America, 1966
1 2 K. Reinhardt, E. Harney, R. Naylor, M. Siva-Jothy, Female-limited polymorphism in the copulatory organ of a traumatically inseminating insect. American Naturalist, Vol 170, pp. 931-935, December 2007
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