What do female bed bugs primarily feed on?

Female bed bugs primarily feed on blood, which is essential for their reproductive process. They are hematophagous pests, meaning their diet consists mainly of blood meals from their hosts, typically humans. This feeding behavior is crucial, especially for females, as they require the nutrients found in blood to develop and lay eggs.

This feeding usually occurs at night when hosts are asleep, allowing bed bugs to consume blood without being disturbed. Their mouthparts are adapted for piercing the skin and sucking blood, making them specialized feeders in this regard. This dependence on blood is a defining characteristic of bed bugs, especially given their life cycle, which includes multiple molts and requires blood meals for growth and reproduction.

The other options, while related to various diets in the insect world, do not apply to female bed bugs, as they do not consume fruits, pollen, or grains. Bed bugs have evolved to thrive specifically on blood, which simplifies their nutrition to a single food source that is readily available in hosts.