If what you say is true, can you please explain [1] why I found this creature on my body and [b] why I am plagued by the bite of nocturnal blood-sucking creatures?

Do you have a web reference you can refer me to for a positive ID?

Many thanks!

These bugs can fly, so while it is rare to find one that landed on you, it is possible. Also, Triatoma are much, much larger! If you have stayed in a hostel or cabin frequently used by others, you may have picked up bed bugs, which would account for the bites. Search the bed thoroughly for that possibility. This bark bug is NOT the cause of any bites. Their mouthparts are built specifically for feeding on fungi.

Say, can you forward any URLs or photographs? If my sample is a bark bug, as you suggest, I'd like to positively identify the species. (My contact at the University Extension office believes I might be dealing with triatomine bugs.)

A thorough search of the bed and surrounding area (since July) turns up no evidence of bed bugs. Incidentally, I moved and the creatures ended up in my car. They bite on back and legs. They also bite bare feet but the reaction is delayed, making it difficult to catch them.

Many thanks!

You can contact the other folks who have submitted images to this site I suppose. There is also a book on the bark bugs of Canada and Alaska, one of those monographs in the series produced by the Canada Department of Agriculture. Don't know if it is still available, though....