Triatoma rubida is the most common species in Tucson.
(Michael J. Schumacher, MB, FRACP, University of Arizona)
Video at source
Posted on 06/02/2006 5:46:20 PM PDT by SandRat
A kiss is just a kiss unless it's inflicted! It's that time of year, again, when experts have a warning about the desert-dwelling "kissing bug."
It's a blood-sucking insect that can cause life-threatening reactions in some of us.
"That's disgusting."
"No, I've never heard of it."
"Don't want any kissing bugs going in my mouth."
No matter who we talked to around town, the kissing bug was not very popular.
Just what is a ‘kissing bug?'
"They are blood parasites that must suck the blood of other animals in order to survive."
Doctor Leslie Boyer is the Medical Director of the Arizona Poison and Drug Information Center.
Kissing bugs are black bugs about three quarters of an inch long.
We start to see much more of them from June through the rest of the summer.
How did they get their name?
"It's called the 'kissing bug' because a lot of times when you sleep, the covers come up to here and the only part of you available for them to get blood from is your face," says Boyer.
The kissing bug is black and has red on the sides of its abdomen.
And Dr. Boyer says they're smart.
They follow a trail of carbon dioxide.
When we exhale, she says, "They can actually find their way to where the exhaling, 'big, delicious, full-of-blood mammal' is sitting."
‘Kissing bugs' can be found in desert dwellings, especially in areas like the foothills, hiding under rocks.
Since they live on mammals, doctors say to watch what your dog or cat brings in.
What should you do if the bug finds its way from the desert into your home?
Dr. Boyer says it's important to check your comforter, your sheets and your mattress to see if the kissing bugs are sleeping inside.
If you are bit by the bug, severe side effects can occur.
"An allergy that can be so serious that you loose your ability to breathe properly -- that you go into what's termed anaphylactic shock."
Dr. Boyer says it's very rare that a bite will do anything more than give you a small, itchy red bump.
She said, "...for most people, it's just a bug."
Video at source
"'Kissing bugs' return to Southern Arizona"
Does this mean they're not found in other areas of Arizona -- such as Phoenix or Scottsdale?
What Kissing Bugs are found in the US, and where in the US?
Triatomines can be found in the following states of the US (Schofield, 1994) - and thanks to Milton Rodríguez Sànchez for pointing out my mispellings Triatoma protracta and Triatoma gerstaeckeri:
Alabama
Triatoma sanguisuga (Leconte, 1855)
Indiana
Triatoma sanguisuga (Leconte, 1855)
North Carolina
Triatoma lecticularia (Stål, 1859)
Triatoma sanguisuga (Leconte, 1855)
Arizona:
Paratriatoma hirsuta Barber, 1938
Triatoma incrassata Usinger, 1939
Triatoma indictiva Neiva, 1912
Triatoma lecticularia (Stål, 1859)
Triatoma protracta (Uhler, 1894)
Triatoma neotomae Neiva, 1911
Triatoma recurva (Stål, 1894)
Triatoma sanguisuga (Leconte, 1855)
Kanasa
Triatoma lecticularia (Stål, 1859)
Triatoma sanguisuga (Leconte, 1855)
Ohio
Triatoma sanguisuga (Leconte, 1855)
Arkansas
Triatoma sanguisuga (Leconte, 1855) Kentucky
Triatoma sanguisuga (Leconte, 1855) Oklahoma
Triatoma lecticularia (Stål, 1859)
Triatoma sanguisuga (Leconte, 1855)
California
Paratriatoma hirsuta Barber, 1938
Triatoma lecticularia (Stål, 1859)
Triatoma neotomae Neiva, 1911
Triatoma protracta (Uhler, 1894) Louisiana
Triatoma lecticularia (Stål, 1859)
Triatoma sanguisuga (Leconte, 1855)
Pennsylvania
Triatoma lecticularia (Stål, 1859)
Triatoma sanguisuga (Leconte, 1855)
Colorado
Triatoma protracta (Uhler, 1894)
Maryland
Triatoma lecticularia (Stål, 1859)
Triatoma sanguisuga (Leconte, 1855)
South Carolina
Triatoma lecticularia (Stål, 1859)
Triatoma sanguisuga (Leconte, 1855)
Florida
Triatoma lecticularia (Stål, 1859)
Triatoma rubrofasciata (De Geer, 1773)
Triatoma sanguisuga (Leconte, 1855)
Mississipi
Triatoma sanguisuga (Leconte, 1855)
Tennessee
Triatoma lecticularia (Stål, 1859)
Triatoma sanguisuga (Leconte, 1855)
Georgia
Triatoma lecticularia (Stål, 1859)
Triatoma sanguisuga (Leconte, 1855)
Missouri
Triatoma lecticularia (Stål, 1859)
Triatoma sanguisuga (Leconte, 1855)
Texas
Triatoma gerstaeckeri (Stål, 1859)
Triatoma indictiva Neiva, 1912
Triatoma neotomae Neiva, 1911
Triatoma protracta (Uhler, 1894)
Triatoma sanguisuga (Leconte, 1855)
Hawaii
Triatoma rubrofasciata (De Geer, 1773)
Nevada
Paratriatoma hirsuta Barber, 1938
Triatoma protracta (Uhler, 1894)
Virginia
Triatoma sanguisuga (Leconte, 1855)
Illinois
Triatoma lecticularia (Stål, 1859)
Triatoma sanguisuga (Leconte, 1855)
New Mexico
Triatoma gerstaeckeri (Stål, 1859)
Triatoma lecticularia (Stål, 1859)
Triatoma indictiva Neiva, 1912
Triatoma neotomae Neiva, 1911
Triatoma protracta (Uhler, 1894)
Utah
Triatoma protracta (Uhler, 1894)
Triatoma rubida (Uhler, 1894) is also reported to be found in the US (Carcavallo, 1987), but no state is mentioned.
Thanks.
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