Does all life have purpose? Bedbugs contribute nothing to the ecosystem, spend most of their time sleeping and still manage to cause a public nuisance. But some say it is time to extend a little generosity towards the little critters.
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Panic in Paris as bedbug invasion hits city
Does all life have purpose? Bedbugs contribute nothing to the ecosystem, spend most of their time sleeping and still manage to cause a public nuisance. But some say it is time to extend a little generosity towards the little critters.
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"If you are lucky enough to have lived in Paris," says HemingwayErnest Hemingway was an American novelist. He won the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1954. , "then wherever you go for the rest of your life, it stays with you, for Paris is a moveable feast."
Ah, Paris! Never a shortage of things to fill your days. Romantic walks along the Seine, gawkingStaring. at art in the LouvreA famous art museum in Paris, France. , getting lost in the dark and gothic catacombsAn underground cemetery, with passages and rooms where bodies were buried in the past. .
When it gets dark, the Eiffel Tower lights up in sparkling gold and hundreds of tiny parasitesWhen a creature lives on or inside another creature, causing it harm. crawl out of your mattress ready to make you into their moveable feast.
It hardly lives up to the romantic ideal. But nowadays, travellers seeking out the winding streets of the city of love are more likely to come head-to-head with the city's infestation of hungry bedbugs.
Nor have they had the common decency to stick to beds. Parisians have been telling horror stories of bedbug infestations in cinemas, the metro, and even restaurants.
Infestations can take a while to take hold, but are persistentContinuing to do something or to try to do something even though it is difficult or other people want you to stop. . A study conducted between 2017 and 2022 found that 11% of French households had been infested by the bugs. Some have raised concerns about the 2024 Olympics, which are set to be held in Paris less than a year from now.
To add insult to injury, many scientists believe that bedbugs add precisely nothing to the ecosystem. They do not pollinateTaking pollen from one plant to another so new seeds can be produced. and, though they are consumed by spiders, they are only one of the many plentiful foods eaten by the arachnidsA group of insects including spiders. .
For many, these bugs embody meaningless life. All they do is create nuisance. One of the top searches they attract on Google is "why did God create bedbugs?"
Others think they are quite remarkable. They have incredible sensory capabilities which allow them to detect their prey even in pitch black darkness. They can survive great extremes of weather, from deserts to polar latitudesSpecies are moving polewards, closer to the north and south poles.. They are nocturnal and shed their exoskeletonA skeleton on the outside of the body. after a blood meal. And they might even have a new purpose: being used in criminal investigations!
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Does all life have purpose?
Yes: Even the humble bedbug, which at first seems to have little use, can be made to have some kind of function - in this case, in forensic investigations. This goes to show that anything can have a purpose.
No: The bedbug is nothing more than a common pest, and furthermore one that could send the world and maybe even the world economy into turmoil if it disrupts the Olympics next year. Meanwhile, it adds nothing to our ecosystemA complex network of living things that rely on each other to survive..
Or... The bedbug may not have much purpose - but then neither do we. On a philosophical level, it might be argued that we are just as tiny and insignificant as them.
Keywords
Hemingway - Ernest Hemingway was an American novelist. He won the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1954.
Gawking - Staring.
Louvre - A famous art museum in Paris, France.
Catacombs - An underground cemetery, with passages and rooms where bodies were buried in the past.
Parasites - When a creature lives on or inside another creature, causing it harm.
Persistent - Continuing to do something or to try to do something even though it is difficult or other people want you to stop.
Pollinate - Taking pollen from one plant to another so new seeds can be produced.
Arachnids - A group of insects including spiders.
Latitudes - Species are moving polewards, closer to the north and south poles.
Exoskeleton - A skeleton on the outside of the body.
Ecosystem - A complex network of living things that rely on each other to survive.
Panic in Paris as bedbug invasion hits city
Glossary
Hemingway - Ernest Hemingway was an American novelist. He won the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1954.
Gawking - Staring.
Louvre - A famous art museum in Paris, France.
Catacombs - An underground cemetery, with passages and rooms where bodies were buried in the past.
Parasites - When a creature lives on or inside another creature, causing it harm.
Persistent - Continuing to do something or to try to do something even though it is difficult or other people want you to stop.
Pollinate - Taking pollen from one plant to another so new seeds can be produced.
Arachnids - A group of insects including spiders.
Latitudes - Species are moving polewards, closer to the north and south poles.
Exoskeleton - A skeleton on the outside of the body.
Ecosystem - A complex network of living things that rely on each other to survive.