kissing bugs
Chagas disease vectors
Kissing bugs are blood-feeding insects that bite humans around the mouth and face while they sleep, drawn by exhaled carbon dioxide.
Native to the Americas, they transmit Chagas disease through their feces, which enter the wound when the bite is scratched.
The name comes from their tendency to bite near the lips.
- HemipteraTrue bug order
- bitePierce with teeth
- bug bitePuncture from small pest
- bloodsuckingExtracting blood for nourishment
- blood mealDried, powdered animal protein
Trypanosoma cruzi · silent killer · insect · flat · thatch · rural housing · adobe · mud walls · nocturnal · megacolon · cardiomyopathy · heart disease · vector · transmitters · skin · parasitic · tiny · hiding
kissing bugsbeneficial insects
Arthropods aiding agriculture
pollinators · honeybees · butterflies · ladybugs · praying mantises
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Colonial insects producing wax
ladybugs · fireflies · silkworms · lacewings · dragonflies
kissing bugsaphids
Sap-feeding garden insects
leafhoppers · cicadas · butterflies · pollinators · detritivores
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