Are bed bugs cannibals?
Bed bugs are not known to be cannibals.
Studies found no evidence of bed bugs eating each other, even under starvation conditions. Their biology is adapted for blood-feeding, not consuming other insects or their own eggs.
Bed bugs can survive 135 to 300 days without a blood meal, depending on temperature, by entering a dormant state rather than resorting to cannibalism.
But especially small nymphs may suck blood from adults when no host is available.