Tag Archives: kissing bugs

SPN: Gardens, Mosquitoes and Fungi

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In this month’s edition of School Pest News, I have several items to share with you. In an effort to help School IPM Coordinators in TX with their school garden programs, I recently worked with the Junior Master Gardener team to develop a simple document that help explains the volunteers and teacher roles in the school garden process.  This document can be shared with those in your district overseeing gardens to help educate them as well.  At the same time, there is an online module on School Gardens… Read More →

SPN: New kissing bug guide published to strengthen the fight against Chagas disease

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A guide to help battle a potentially fatal disease transferred by a blood-sucking insect called the kissing bug has been published by a task force led by The University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston (UTHealth). While it may not make good bedtime reading, the new image-based guide from the Texas Chagas Task Force could keep you from falling victim to a disease caused by a parasite that the kissing bug carries. The parasite is Trypanosoma cruzi (T.cruzi), and the disease it causes is called Chagas disease…. Read More →

School Pest News, Volume 15, Issue 11, November 2015

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Kissing bugs and Chagas disease. By Wizzie Brown, Extension Program Specialist III Triatomine bugs, also known as kissing bugs, reduviid bugs and cone-nose bugs, are almost an inch long with elongated cone-shaped heads. The body is grayish-brown with a wide abdomen that has flattened sides. The flattened sides of the abdomen stick out beyond the wing margins and are marked with red, orange or yellow stripes. Nymphs (immatures) look similar to adults, but lack fully developed wings. There are other insects in Texas that look similar and can… Read More →