2. A type of bugs that belong to the sub family
Triatominae.
Haematophagous which means that they feed
on vertebrates blood.
Biological transmitters for the Parasite
(Trypanosoma. cruzi)
Nocturnal insects (Active only at night), they
get attracted to the light coming from people
houses mostly.
Called kissing bugs because they mostly target
the face for the lips and the areas around it are
their favorite biting spots.
Relatively painless bite.
4. Widespread in the
Americas, with a few
species present in Asia,
Africa and Australia.
live in the nests and
burrows of vertebrate
animals.
5. The adult kissing bug is 3/4 to 1
inch (2.5 cm) long and dark gray to
black in color.
Wings overlap on the top of the
abdomen forming a distinct letter
“X”.
Abdomen is wide and flattened.
Head is cone-shaped with a short,
curved sucking mouthparts.
3-segmented proboscis (beak)
extends backward below the body.
Two (elbowed) antenna.
6. Incomplete metamorphosis :
Egg Nymph Adult
Eggs are laid in summer and take 3-5 weeks to hatch
and give a wingless first nymph.
It passes successively through 5 instars. After the fifth
instar it turns into an adult, acquiring two pairs of
wings.
both sexes and all life stages are blood suckers.
7. The kissing bugs are biological
vectors that transmit the
parasite (Trypanosoma.cruzi)
which causes the Chagas
disease by the contamination
of the wound with the bug’s
FECES and not SALIVA.
Its saliva contains proteins
that causes inflammation in
the skin in the biting site.
8. Eliminate or minimize light
sources around home.
Remove rodent nests around
house.
Recommend regular pest
control service plan.