Kissing bug

Sources

1. How Chagas Disease Spreads. CDC (National Center for Emerging and Zoonotic Infectious Diseases). archived copy, captured October 13, 2026; checked November 3, 2026.
   Quoted passages (3)

   “Chagas disease spreads through triatomine bugs that are infected with the T. cruzi parasite. … People get Chagas disease through contact with the droppings (poop) of the bugs or by accidentally rubbing the feces into open wounds, eyes, or mouth.”

   “Beneath porches … Between rocky structures … Under cement … In rock, wood, brush piles, or beneath bark … In rodent nests or animal burrows … In outdoor dog houses or kennels … In chicken coops or houses … In the United States, triatomine bugs rarely infest homes because houses are well-sealed and have plastered walls. … If these bugs are inside, they are often found near where pets sleep, where rodents are present, or around beds and bedrooms, especially under or near mattresses or nightstands.”

   “These bugs hide in walls and roofs during the day and come out to feed on blood at night.”

2. About Chagas Disease. CDC (National Center for Emerging and Zoonotic Infectious Diseases). archived copy, captured October 21, 2026; checked November 3, 2026.
3. Kissing Bugs & Chagas Disease: What You Need to Know. Texas Department of State Health Services. undated page; checked November 3, 2026.
   Quoted passages (10)

   “Adult kissing bugs range in size, but are usually about the size of a U.S. quarter. … Size – adult kissing bugs are one half to one-and-a-quarter inches long”

   “Head shape – kissing bug heads are long-thin; narrow at the tip and widen slightly to where they attach to the body”

   “Legs – kissing bug legs are long and thin, with no bulging parts.”

   “Kissing bugs have noticeable mouthparts that appear as a large black needle attached to the head; when tucked under the body, the needle-like mouthpart is completely straight.”

   “Kissing bugs are slightly flat and have very long, thin heads when compared to other similar related bugs.”

   “Kissing bug nymphs (immature, young insects) are smaller than adults, and range in size from the size of a poppy seed to almost 1 inch long. They have a ‘tear-drop’ body shape, with a pointy head and rounded bottom. … Nymphs do not have wings, so they can walk, but they cannot fly.”

   “Kissing bugs develop into adults after a series of five life stages as nymphs, and both nymphs and adults feed on blood. Kissing bugs feed on humans as well as wild and domestic animals and pets.”

   “Adult kissing bugs are mostly active in the warmer months, from May to October.”

   “They can live between one to two years from when they hatch out of the egg, through all five of the immature nymph stages, until they become adults and eventually die.”

   “If you find a kissing bug that has bitten a person or is inside your home, contact your local health department. In Texas, the State Health Department can help you get kissing bugs tested if found in your home or are suspected to have bitten someone. … Never touch a kissing bug with bare hands and avoid crushing it.”

4. What You Should Know About Kissing Bugs (az1992). University of Arizona Cooperative Extension. September 2025 (revised; checked November 3, 2026.
5. Pest Notes: Conenose Bugs. University of California Statewide IPM Program (UC ANR Cooperative Extension). updated 07/2013; checked November 3, 2026.
   Quoted passages (2)

   “…looks somewhat similar in shape to conenose bugs but has an orange and black body with an orange spot on each wing (Figure 3). The western corsair feeds primarily on other insects and doesn’t seek warm-blooded animals or require a blood meal in order to reproduce. In contrast to kissing bugs, if you pick up a corsair, it can inflict a most painful bite.”

   “Conenose bugs are easily distinguished from another bloodsucking true bug group, bed bugs (Pest Notes: Bed Bugs), by their larger size, darker color (bed bugs are brown to orange), presence of wings in the adult stage, and a more oblong shape with pointy (conenose) head.”

6. Wheel bugs and other assassin bugs (ENT-1003). Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service (Insects in the City). page modified 2016-01-14; checked November 3, 2026.
   Quoted passages (1)

   “Adult wheel bugs are gray and approximately 3 cm (1 ¼ inches) long. Its name comes from the distinctive, cog-like crest arising from the top of the thorax, or middle section, of the wheel bug’s body (see photo). … Cone nosed bugs have the same elongated head as the wheel bug, but can be distinguished from wheel bugs by their lack of a crest and by their orange and black markings where the abdomen extends laterally past the folding wings.”

7. Kissing Bugs of Louisiana: Biology, Identification and Prevention (AG0426r1). LSU AgCenter (Louisiana Cooperative Extension Service). April 2026 4/26'; checked November 3, 2026.
   Quoted passages (2)

   “Other members of Reduviidae Lacking red/orange bands on the abdomen; pos-sesses shorter and rounder head; solitary when mature … Assassin bugs are commonly encountered outdoors during the day, whereas kissing bugs can be found both outdoors and indoors and are mainly nocturnal.”

   “Leaf-footed bugs (Coreidae) Rounder head; larger size; enlarged hind tibia”

8. GBIF.org occurrence records, human observations licensed CC0 1.0 or CC BY 4.0 only, accessed November 3, 2026. The datasets behind these counts are listed on our Sources page.
9. State boundaries: U.S. Census Bureau, cartographic boundary file cb_2024_us_state_20m.