Humanity’s oldest pest offers clues not just about entomology but about our shared evolutionary journey. Bed bugs trace their origins to insects that once lived in caves alongside bats. According to recent genetic research from Virginia Tech, the human-associated lineage of bed bugs split from bat‑associated relatives roughly 245,000 years ago and accompanied early humans as they left caves about 60,000 years ago. These creatures endured the Last Glacial Maximum and then flourished as humans expanded into agricultural settlements, making bed bugs likely the first true urban pest . 🦇 From Bats to Bedrooms: Evolution of the Pest Originally feeding on bats in the Middle East, bed bugs shifted hosts when humans shared caves with bats, evolving mouthparts and nocturnal behavior to suit human skin and warmth. Their presence appears in ancient texts—Pliny’s Natural History (~77 AD) identified Cimex lectularius (“bed bug”) as a household pest, and preserved specimens dating back over 3,5...