Lookalikes
for Bed Bug
The tropical bed bug (*Cimex hemipterus*) is the closest look-alike; the two are told apart by the prothorax behind the head, which is broader and flatter at the edges on the common species. Source: https://ask.ifas.ufl.edu/publication/in297 Bat bugs are the other frequent mix-up. The tell is hair length on the front of the pronotum: shorter than the eye's width on a bed bug, longer on a bat bug. It matters because bat bugs are tied to bats, not people, and a mix-up wastes money on the wrong treatment. Source: https://yardandgarden.extension.iastate.edu/article/2023/07/bed-bugs-or-bat-bugs-id-crucial-management