What is "cimex lectularius"

Bedbug \Bed"bug`\, n. (Zo["o]l.) A wingless, bloodsucking, hemipterous insect ( Cimex Lectularius), sometimes infesting houses and especially beds. See Illustration in Appendix.

Chinch \Chinch\, n. [Cf. Sp. chinche, fr. L. cimex.]

1. (Zo["o]l.) The bedbug ( Cimex lectularius).

2. (Zo["o]l.) A bug ( Blissus leucopterus), which, in the United States, is very destructive to grass, wheat, and other grains; -- also called chiniz, chinch bug, chink bug. It resembles the bedbug in its disgusting odor.

Bug \Bug\ (b[u^]g), n. [OE. bugge, fr. W. bwg, bwgan, hobgoblin, scarecrow, bugbear. Cf. Bogey, Boggle.]

1. A bugbear; anything which terrifies. [Obs.]

   Sir, spare your threats: The bug which you would fright me with I seek.
   --Shak.

2. (Zo["o]l.) A general name applied to various insects belonging to the Hemiptera; as, the squash bug; the chinch bug, etc.

3. (Zo["o]l.) An insect of the genus Cimex, especially the bedbug ( Cimex lectularius). See Bedbug.

4. (Zo["o]l.) One of various species of Coleoptera; as, the ladybug; potato bug, etc.; loosely, any beetle.

5. (Zo["o]l.) One of certain kinds of Crustacea; as, the sow bug; pill bug; bait bug; salve bug, etc.

   Note: According to popular usage in England and among housekeepers in America around 1900, bug, when not joined with some qualifying word, was used specifically for bedbug. As a general term it is now used very loosely in America as a colloquial term to mean any small crawling thing, such as an insect or arachnid, and was formerly used still more loosely in England. ``God's rare workmanship in the ant, the poorest bug that creeps.''
   --Rogers (
   --Naaman). ``This bug with gilded wings.''
   --Pope.

6. (Computers) An error in the coding of a computer program, especially one causing the program to malfunction or fail. See, for example, year 2000 bug. ``That's not a bug, it's a feature!''

7. Any unexpected defect or flaw, such as in a machine or a plan.

8. A hidden electronic listening device, used to hear or record conversations surreptitiously.

9. An infectious microorganism; a germ[4]. [Colloq.]

10. An undiagnosed illness, usually mild, believed to be caused by an infectious organism. [Colloq.]

    Note: In some communities in the 1990's, the incidence of AIDS is high and AIDS is referred to colloquially as ``the bug''.

11. An enthusiast; -- used mostly in combination, as a camera bug. [Colloq.]

    Bait bug. See under Bait.

    Bug word, swaggering or threatening language. [Obs.]
    --Beau. & Fl.