Which family comprises small, apricot-colored wingless ectoparasites that feed on blood at night and hide in mattresses?

• A. Miridae
• B. Lygaeidae
• C. Cimicidae
• D. Pentatomidae

Answer: (C)

Bed bugs in the Cimicidae family are classic wingless ectoparasites that feed on blood while their hosts sleep and hide in sleeping-area refuges like mattresses and bed frames. They’re small and flattened, with a pale apricot-colored appearance before feeding and a deeper color after a meal, and they roam out at night to pierce the skin with their feeding tube. This combination of being wingless, blood-feeding at night, and seeking shelter in mattresses uniquely matches Cimicidae. The other families are primarily plant-feeders or seed-feeders and are not the nocturnal, mattress-associated bloodsuckers that define bed bugs.