Summary This is the first report of the tropical bed bug in Florida in over 6 decades. The tropical bed bug had previously been documented in Florida in the 1930s and 1940s. Sumario Este es el primer informe de la chinche de cama tropical en la Florida en más de 6 décadas. La chinche de cama tropical ya había sido documentada en la Florida en los años 1930 y 1940.

Two strains of the common bed bug, Cimex lectularius L., eggs and first instars collected from pyrethroid-resistant adults were evaluated for insecticide resistance and compared to a susceptible strain. Dose-response bioassays were conducted using two insecticide formulations (Temprid: imidacloprid/β-cyfluthrin, and Transport: acetamiprid/ bifenthrin). The lethal concentration (LC₅₀) for the two resistant egg strains exposed to imidacloprid/β-cyfluthrin ranged from 3 to 5-fold higher than susceptible strain eggs. Resistant strain eggs dipped into formulations of acetamiprid/bifenthrin had LC₅₀ values which were significantly greater (39 to 1,080-fold) than susceptible strain eggs. Similar to eggs, resistant strain first instars exposed to residual applications of imidacloprid/β-cyfluthrin had LC₅₀ values ranging from 121 to 493-fold greater than susceptible strain first instars. When resistant strain first instars were treated with acetamiprid/bifenthrin, they had LC₅₀ values that were 99 to >1,900-fold greater than susceptible strain first instars. To determine differences between egg and first instar resistance, stage resistance ratios (SRR) were compared between the two stages. There was little difference between the egg and first instar stages, indicated by small SRR values ranging from 1.1 to 10.0. This study suggests that insecticide resistance is expressed early during bed bug development.

Insecticide evaluations are often targeted against adult insects, rather than immature stages. Here, we present a protocol for...