Bedbug

It’s been a while since I saw one of those little fellows. Over a year actually. And I spotted this one in a rather unusual location. I was on a 20-hour bus ride from Nicaragua to Guatemala. These can get a little boring with time. Surprisingly, the movie of the bus driver’s choice was not “Rambo” but “Avatar”. It’s fun to hear the Na’vi speak Spanish (was that a Mexican accent?) and the plot is simple enough that even I understood some.

So, as I am sitting there watching the movie, I suddenly notice an insect. It’s also just sitting there, on the white seat cover of the seat in front of me. The characteristic shape of its body made it easy to identify: a bedbug! Yikes. Then again, interesting. For a moment I was considering to keep it as a pet as I have done with other insects (cockroaches) and millipedes before. I’d call the little blood sucker Cristian. But then I changed my mind and squished it. It left a large red blood stain on the white seat cover. It must have just feasted on someone’s blood and I wholeheartedly hope that somebody was not me.

What’s wrong with this picture?

Squashed bedbug

In my mind I was already phrasing this blog entry when after about 5 min this squished little insect began moving again. Zombie bedbug! These things are inextinguishable (if that is an English word). It managed to crawl another 20 cm or so before I let it drop on the floor and squished it with my foot. Not even a zombie bedbug survives the force of my 80-something kilogram body…