Emily Dickinson Lexicon

BUG, n. [Qu. W. baç, byçan, small.]

In common language, the name of a vast multitude of insects, which infest houses and plants. In zoology, this word is applied to the insects arranged under the genus Cimex, of which several hundred species are described. Bugs belong to the order of Hemipters. They are furnished with a rostrum or beak, with antennæ longer than the thorax, and the wings are folded together crosswise. The back is flat, the throat margined, and the feet are formed for running. Some species have no wings. The house-bug, or bed-bug, is a troublesome and disgusting insect. – Encyc.