“Scientists discover new assassin bug by accident”
I recently found a Wheel Bug in Albuquerque and will be fitting in a picture soon I hope. It has the characteristic wheel just behind its head. I was recently on a call (the first week of January) and the Box Elders bugs were everywhere.
“Blood Sucking “Kissing Bugs” ing across Texas”
I’ve seen this information a few times in the last few weeks, so I think caution needs to be applied. Repair screens, don’t leave doors opens and repair those weep screens in the attics.
Disease and my favorite bug is in the news once again – The Kissing Bug, apparently the dreaded Bedbug may now transmit a similar disease carried by the Kissing Bug.
In a study published online this week in the American Journal of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene, senior author Michael Z. Levy, PhD, assistant professor in the department of Biostatistics and Epidemiology at the University of Pennsylvania’s Perelman School of Medicine, and researchers at the Universidad Peruana Cayetano Heredia in Peru conducted a series of laboratory experiments that demonstrated bi-directional transmission of T. cruzi between mice and bed bugs.
So if you live in the South I highly recommend making sure your screens are in place, wear repellent when hiking an if you have horses or cattle keep an eye out for the Kissing Bugs
and
If traveling store your suitcase or luggage in the bathroom until you make an inspection of your hotel room, don’t accept or purchase furniture with inspecting it as well.
disease Photo by PPMA
“Kissing Bug” aka Triatoma, Assassin Bug, Cone-nose, Wheel Bug, or Ambush bug and sometimes called the Masked Bedbug Hunter “Arkansans spot the dangerous “kissing bug“. This bug is considered a predatory insect, it generally goes after other bugs and suck their fluids right out of their bodies. It gets that Kissing Bug name from the way they attack humans at night if they get into your home – they go to the area of our bodies that allow easier penetrations, like our mouth.
There are a variety of species (7000) and most look cool with their coloration but watch out for their piercing sucking rostrum. They live in the Southern States and Mexico. They transmit Chagas Disease with that painful bite wound where people accidentally scratch and introduce the organism into their bodies .
Best way to keep them out of your home:
Having lived in Florida and Arizona I know how easy it is for bugs to get into your home. Many things can be done to keep bugs out including having your home sealed, that J-trim often pulls away from the home and allows crickets and scorpions a path right into your home. Replacing door sweeps or installing garage thresholds can be another great add-on to stop those pests from getting into your home.
recently did an article on “What you should know about Arizona’s Kissing Bug“.
I’m a bug guy so hiking with me is an adventure in looking at the little stuff, sometimes we tend to only look ahead but not me. I’m the guy that stops to investigate a lone ant 
, or maybe something lurking behind a leaf like this Assassin Bug 
. I also tend to investigate wood rot and fungus 
or something like this 
.
So as you are out hiking don’t forget the small stuff.
While teaching at the Chandler Environmental Education Center one of the parents asked me what this bug was? Why of course it’s my buddy the Assassin Bug. I really love the look and often times checkered pattern of this insect.
They prefer to attack animals such as cattle and horses but if they get trapped in your home they will bite whatever they can. So keep those doors closed and those screens repaired. Stay safe and check your homes frequently.
So you’ve been lucky, never been attacked or stung by an insect. Is it luck or are you one of those who may die if stung and you just don’t know it yet? “The rise of deadly insect sing allergies: Is there a cure?” published by Annals of Allergy, Asthma & Immunology article by Medical press.
“Insect sting allergy is increasing, affecting five percent of the population. But what much of the population may not understand is that there is something that can be done about it.”
I’m extremely fortunate that I’m not allergic, especially since I’m in the biz? So here are a few tips:
Warning signs someone’s been stung by a scorpion MyFox News video and story.
stinger of bark scorpion magnified
Photo from ProBest Pest Management (my favorite) notice the lime green legs and wonderful colors...
What a great name!! – “Assassin Bugs” – and these critters really do try to live up to it, by jabbing their sharp mouth into other insects they’ve captured, and sucking out the juicy stuff inside. In this effort these insects certainly qualify as “beneficial” predators. Unfortunately some of the different kinds are also given other names, and these are far more threatening to us. We call some species Kissing Bugs or Cone-nosed Bugs, because there are a few kinds that feed on the blood of animals rather than on other insects. This interesting family called the Reduviidae is worth knowing about, and worth being aware of if you live in areas where the kissing bugs are prevalent. Check out further Assassin Bug info from Buginfo.com a Univar site.
