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Subfamily Triatominae - Kissing Bugs

Triatoma gerstaeckeri Oh, oh, look what I just found in the bathroom! - Triatoma rubida Conenose Bug Nymph in California (September) - Triatoma Conenose-which species? - Triatoma gerstaeckeri Biting Insect? Chagas bug? - Triatoma gerstaeckeri Triatoma protracta? - Triatoma protracta True Bug (Coreinae?) - Triatoma sanguisuga
Classification
Kingdom Animalia (Animals)
Phylum Arthropoda (Arthropods)
Subphylum Hexapoda (Hexapods)
Class Insecta (Insects)
Order Hemiptera (True Bugs, Cicadas, Hoppers, Aphids and Allies)
Suborder Heteroptera (True Bugs)
Infraorder Cimicomorpha
Family Reduviidae (Assassin Bugs)
Subfamily Triatominae (Kissing Bugs)
Other Common Names
Conenoses; barbeiro, bicudo, chupão (Brazil); vinchuca, chipo, pito, chinchorro, chirimacho, iquipito, chupon (in various Spanish-speaking Latin American countries); Bush Chinch (Belize)(1)
Synonyms and other taxonomic changes
revised in (2)
Explanation of Names
Triatominae Jeannel 1919
Numbers
11 spp. in 2 genera in our area, 160 spp. in ~20 genera total(3)
Size
5-45 mm (most spp. 20-28 mm)(1), in our area, 13-33 mm
Range
mostly New World (s. Argentina to central US) + 12 spp. in s. Asia and a single pantropical sp. (Triatoma rubrofasciata) in Africa(1)
Habitat
Sheltered habitats used by the hosts(1) ie caves, logs, nests, human habitations, etc.
Food
Blood of various tetrapods(1)
Has a symbiotic relationship with Arsenophonus triatominarum, a proteobacteria, that assist in providing the insect with sufficient amino acids.(4)
Remarks
12 spp. in 3 genera (Triatoma, Rhodnius, Panstrongylus) are considered major vectors of Trypanosoma cruzi (the causative agent of Chagas Disease), but none of those occur in our area(1)
Many specimens of Triatoma have been positive for Trypanosoma cruzi in our area, mostly in sw US. In the southeast (TN‒AL‒GA‒FL‒LA) positive T. sanguisuga are very sporadic. In the west and Texas, T. gerstaeckeri, T. protracta, T. recurva, and T. rubida are the main vectors.
Print References
(5)
Works Cited
1.Medical and Veterinary Entomology
Gary Mullen, Lance Durden. 2002. Academic Press.
2.Revision of the Triatominae (Hemiptera, Reduviidae), and their significance as vectors of Chagas' disease
H. Lent & P. Wygodzinsky. 1979. Bulletin of the American Museum of Natural History, 163: 1-520.
3.BioLib.cz
4.The Insects : Structure and Function
R. F. Chapman. 1998. Cambridge University Press.
5.Trypanosoma cruzi and Chagas' Disease in the United States
Bern C., Kjos S., Yabsley M., Montgomery S.P. 2011. Clin. microbiol. rev. 24: 655-681.