Kissing Bugs

Classification of Vector

Order: Hemiptera (true bugs)

Family: Reduviidae (assassin bugs and kissing bugs)

Scientific name: Triatoma sanguisuga (LeConte, 1855), Paratriatoma lectularia (Stål, 1859)

Common name: Kissing bug, eastern conenose (T. sanguisuga only)

Classification of Disease Agent

Order: Trypanosomatida

Family: Trypanosomatidae

Scientific name: Trypanosoma cruzi Chagas, 1909

Common name of disease: Chagas disease, American trypanosomiasis

Diversity and Distribution

There are over 150 species of kissing bugs worldwide. The majority of species occur in South and Central America, with fewer than 30 species that occur in North America, Asia, Africa, and Australia.

 Eleven kissing bug species occur in the United States, most of which occur in the Southwest. Texas and Arizona have the highest diversity with eight and seven species, respectively. Only two species are widespread in the eastern United States: Triatoma sanguisuga, the eastern conenose (Figure 1), and Paratriatoma lecticularia, which has no common name (Figure 2). Of these, the eastern conenose is the most commonly encountered species.

Description

Eastern conenose kissing bugs are medium-sized (0.6–0.8 in; 16–21 mm) boldly patterned insects. The body is dark brown to black with red to orange markings along the sides of the abdomen and thorax. The abdomen flares somewhat at the edges, so eastern conenose appear triangular in cross-section when viewed from behind. The eyes are prominent and round, while the head is narrow and elongate anterior to the eyes (hence the name "conenose").

Paratriatoma lecticularia is similar in size and coloration to eastern conenose. The two species can be distinguished by the presence of abundant hairs (setae) on the mouthparts of P. lecticularia, which are absent in T. sanguisuga. The CDC has additional information about differentiating kissing bug species in the United States in this article: Triatomine Bugs in the United States.

Look-Alike Species

Several commonly encountered true bug species are frequently mistaken for kissing bugs.

Wheel bugs

Wheel bugs are large (up to 1.5 in., 38 mm) grey to dark brown assassin bugs that are native to eastern North America (Figure 3). They can be distinguished from kissing bugs (and all other insects in the area) by the presence of a spined "cog wheel" on the top of the thorax.

While immature wheel bugs can be found throughout the summer, they are most often seen by people in the fall when the large, conspicuous adults are present.

Wheel bugs are generalist predators that feed on any insect they can overpower, so they are beneficial to have in the landscape and in gardens. They do not purposefully seek out people but will bite defensively if (mis)handled. Their bite is extremely painful and can result in local tissue death, so wheel bugs should not be handled without gloves or using a stick or other implement.

Black corsairs and masked hunters 

Black corsairs and masked hunters are similar in size to eastern conenose bugs (0.6–0.8 in; 15–22 mm). Adult females of both species and adult male masked hunters are entirely black and lack the red abdominal markings of eastern conenose bugs (Figures 4, 5). Adult male black corsairs have an abdomen that is entirely red underneath and along the top edge of the abdomen (unlike eastern conenose that have a dark abdomen underneath and checkered red and brown along the top edge). Immature black corsairs have entirely red abdomens that are visible due to their lack of wings (Figure 6). Immature masked hunters are often covered with dust, so they are unlikely to be confused for a kissing bug (Figure 7).

Black corsairs and masked hunters are found in human dwellings, where they feed on other insects such as silverfish, house centipedes, and cockroaches. The presence of large populations of either species can indicate an underlying pest issue. Like wheel bugs, both species have a painful bite and will bite in defense if (mis)handled.

More information can be found here: Penn State article about masked hunters.

Western conifer seed bugs 

Western conifer seed bugs are somewhat smaller than eastern conenose bugs (up to ¾ in., 19 mm). They are drab brown in color, with cream to white markings along the sides of the abdomen (Figure 8). The hind legs have flared tibiae (lower legs).

Western conifer seed bugs feed on the cones of various conifers such as pine and spruce. They generally do not bite people (one accidental bite has been recorded worldwide), do not spread disease, and are not considered pests of medical or veterinary importance.

Western conifer seed bug adults overwinter in protected places and often become fall home invaders. Large numbers may emerge indoors and fly around on warm fall and spring days. This can be cause for concern for homeowners, but the bugs are not a threat beyond being annoying.

More information can be found here: Penn State article about western conifer seed bugs.

Boxelder bugs 

Boxelder bugs are smaller than eastern conenose bugs (up to ½ in., 12 mm). They are dark grey with red eyes and orange stripes on the thorax and wings (Figure 9).

Boxelder bugs primarily feed on boxelder seeds, but sometimes also feed on the seeds of other maples or ash trees. Like western conifer seed bugs, they do not bite people and are not considered medical or veterinary pests. Boxelder bugs exhibit the same overwintering behavior as western conifer seed bugs and may appear in large numbers in or on homes in fall and spring (Figure 10).

More information can be found here: Penn State article about boxelder bugs.

Life History

Kissing bugs feed on vertebrate blood, usually from mammals but sometimes birds and reptiles as well. Some species have a narrow host range (e.g., only rodents), while others are more opportunistic feeders that have a wider host range. Eastern conenose, the most commonly encountered species in eastern North America, is often associated with rodent nests but has a wide host range that includes opossums, armadillos, canids such as coyotes, foxes, and domestic dogs, domestic cats, raccoons, horses, cattle, chickens, and humans. There is less information available about the hosts of Paratriatoma lectularia. They are known to bite humans, so they may have a wide host range as well.

Kissing bugs generally feed on hosts that are resting or asleep. Species that feed on humans often bite around the face and mouth, hence the name "kissing" bug.

Kissing bugs have incomplete metamorphosis, so immatures look similar to adults but lack wings (Figure 11). Immatures go through eight molts before becoming adults, with at least one blood meal per life stage. Wild-caught adult eastern conenose can live for up to 680 days in lab settings, so they likely live for at least a year and probably longer in the wild. Females lay an average of 700, and up to 1,200, eggs. Adult females show a cyclic feeding pattern that is correlated to egg production, which occurs in two or three laying cycles.

Chagas Disease

Chagas disease is caused by a kinetoplast protist, so it is not a bacterial or viral pathogen. The protists were discovered in 1908 in Brazil by Carlos Chagas. While he named the disease cause American trypanosomiasis, other researchers subsequently called it Chagas disease after Dr. Chagas.

The protists that cause Chagas disease have a complicated lifecycle that requires being consumed and transmitted by blood-feeding kissing bugs (Figure 12). After reproducing in the midgut of infected bugs, the protists are excreted in kissing bug feces. Some kissing bug species defecate while feeding, so most transmission occurs when infected feces are rubbed into bite wounds, the mouth or eyes, or other skin breaks or mucous membranes. In some cases, transmission has occurred when kissing bugs defecated onto fruit and other produce, which was then consumed raw or without washing. Like other blood-borne pathogens, Chagas disease can be transmitted through tainted blood products or donated organs, although this is extremely rare, as most countries now test blood and tissue products for Chagas and other diseases. Pets like dogs and cats may contract Chagas disease by eating infected kissing bugs or infected prey animals, like rodents.

Chagas Disease in North America

Historically, Chagas disease was thought to be restricted to Central and South America, and indeed the vast majority of cases occur there. However, recent research over the past decade has demonstrated that

• 9 of 11 kissing bug species in the United States have tested positive for Chagas disease protists
• Wild animals, including woodrats, Virginia opossums, raccoons, armadillos, skunks, and coyotes, have tested positive for Chagas disease antibodies, with some populations having >50% positivity rates
• Infection rates in domestic dogs in Texas range from 10 to more than 50%
• More than 100 autochthonous (locally acquired) infections in humans have been documented since 2000.

Based on these findings, there have been recent calls to recognize that local transmission to wild and domestic animals and humans occurs in the United States so Chagas disease should be considered endemic. Transmission rates appear to be relatively low in most areas, so this should be seen as a call for physicians and the medical establishment to recognize that Chagas exists in the U.S. and include it in differential diagnoses, rather than a change in transmission frequency that the general public needs to be concerned about.

Pennsylvania is towards the northern range limit for kissing bugs in North America. While specimens are occasionally collected, they do not appear to be common or abundant. No autochthonous human cases have been reported, and a survey of wild coyotes and red foxes failed to detect individuals with antibodies to the disease. So while it is impossible to say that Chagas disease does not occur in Pennsylvania – the vectors occur here, after all – it has not yet been detected and is likely rare if it is present.

Control and Bite Prevention

Kissing bugs usually bite people while they sleep, so keeping them out of sleeping areas is the best way to prevent bites. In homes and other built structures, this can be done by

• Sealing cracks, crevices, holes, and other entry points around pipes, utility lines, etc with caulk
• Turning porch lights off at night
• Keeping exterior doors closed and installing brushes or tight weather strips on the undersides of doors
• Keeping door and window screens in good repair
• Moving firewood, leaf litter, and rock piles or stone walls away from the building to reduce nesting areas for small mammals and harborage areas for kissing bugs
• Glue traps or inspections by pest management professionals may help determine if kissing bugs are present.
• Pesticides are usually not necessary if the above steps are taken, but they may help reduce the population in areas that are highly infested. If used, pesticides should be applied as a perimeter spray to the outside of a building and/or as crack-and-crevice applications in infested rooms. While kissing bug treatments are not routine in Pennsylvania, most pest control companies should be able to apply treatments if needed.

Additionally, when camping, make sure to sleep in a tent rather than exposed, and that the tent is well sealed to exclude kissing bugs.

Insect bites usually cannot be diagnosed unless the offending insect is collected and identified. Other potential culprits behind bites include bed bugs, fleas, lice, mosquitoes, black flies, biting midges, horse flies, deer flies, stable flies, scabies mites, chiggers, and ticks. Each of these looks very different from kissing bugs but can deliver similar itchy bites. In addition, other factors, such as physical or chemical irritants in the environment, reactions to drugs (prescription, over-the-counter, or illegal), and various diseases, can lead to symptoms that may be mistaken for insect bites or insects crawling on the skin. Because other causes of skin itches are far more common in Pennsylvania than kissing bugs, they should be ruled out before worrying about kissing bugs in or around the home.

More information can be found here: Penn State article about mysterious itches.

References and Additional Resources

Beatty, N.L., G. L. Hamer, B. Moreno-Peniche, B. Mayes, and S. Hamer. 2025. Chagas disease, an endemic disease in the United States. Emerging Infectious Diseases 31(9): 1691–1697.

Ceccarelli, S., A. Balsalobre, M. E. Vicente, R. Curtis-Robles, S. A Hamer, J. M. Ayala Landa, J. E. Rabinovich, and G. A Marti. 2022. American triatomine species occurrences: updates and novelties in the DataTri database. GigaByte: gigabyte62. doi.10.46471/gigabyte.62

Hays, K. L. 1965. Longevity, fecundity, and food intake of adult Triatoma sanguisuga (Leconte) (Hemiptera: Triatominae). Journal of Medical Entomology 2(2): 200–202. doi.org/10.1093/jmedent/2.2.200

Klotz, S. A., P. L. Dorn, M. Mosbacher, and J. O. Schmidt. 2014. Kissing bugs in the United States: risk for vector-borne disease in humans. Environmental Health Insights 8(S2): 49–59. 10.4137/EHI.S16003

de Paiva, V. F., J. de Oliveira, C. Galvão, S. A. Justi, J. M. Ayala Landa, J. A. da Rosa. 2021. Formal assignation of the kissing bug Triatoma lecticularia (Hemiptera: Reduviidae: Triatominae) to the genus Paratriatoma. Insects 10;12(6): 538. doi.10.3390/insects12060538

Rosypal, A.C., T. Smith, A. Alexander, M. Weaver, R. Stewart, A. Houston, R. Gerhold, K. Van Why, and J. P. Dubey. 2014. Serological surveys of antibodies to Trypanosoma cruzi in coyotes and red foxes from Pennsylvania and Tennessee. Journal of Zoo and Wildlife Management 45(4): 991–993. doi.org/10.1638/2014-0117.1