Skip to content
What's That Bug? does not endorse extermination

Assassin Bug, Possibly Bloodsucking Conenose

Posted by bugman February 2nd, 2011 at 9:29 am

Categories

Assassin Bugs

Interesting bug with a very small head
Location: Singapore, tropical
February 2, 2011 1:58 am
Got this bug from the nature reserve in Singapore, a tropical island country. It has a very small head and a long ?nose.
Please kindly advise the name of it.
Signature: Photoskipper

conenose singapore 300x182 Assassin Bug, Possibly Bloodsucking Conenose

Bloodsucking Conenose, we believe

Dear Photoskipper,
This is an Assassin Bug in the family Reduviidae, and it sure looks like the North American Bloodsucking Conenose Bugs in the genus Triatoma.  According to BugGuide, the genus Triatoma is “Pantropical worldwide.“ BugGuide also notes that the Blood Sucking Conenoses are:  “Hematophagous, feeding on blood from tetrapods. Most common hosts are mammalian but avian, reptilian and amphibian hosts are recorded. The most common wild hosts are wood rats (Neotoma) but other common ones include armadillos, opossums and raccoons (possibly also skunks); synanthropic species may feed on livestock (horses, cattle, chickens), pets and humans.” South American Conenoses are vectors for a disease known as Chagas Disease and BugGuide contains this remark:  “Bite can cause severe allergic reaction in many humans. Bite and defecation into bite can transmit Chagas disease, caused by Trypanosoma cruzi, a protozoan. The most notorious vector is T. infestans, found in South America. The North American species are not normally thought to transmit the disease, though they can carry the parasite. The North American species do not normally defecate at the site of the bite, which is what actually transmits the parasite.“  This ECLAT website lists several Asian species.  Bloodsucking Conenose Bugs are also known as Kissing Bugs because the nocturnal insects are alleged to bite human victims near the lips according to Charles Hogue in his book Insects of the Los Angeles Basin.

conenose singapore 2 300x244 Assassin Bug, Possibly Bloodsucking Conenose

Bloodsucking Conenose, we believe

Related Posts

 

Comments 2

  1. frankv wrote:

    Hi, I am sorry to inform you that this assassin bug is definitely not a bloodsucking conenose. The bug in the picture belongs to the subfamily Harpactorinae which members are all friendly arthropod predators. Conenose bugs belong the subfamily Triatominae. Thank you

    Posted 15 Mar 2011 at 9:09 am
  2. bugman wrote:

    Thank you for providing this information. Our Conenose ID was merely speculation.

    Posted 15 Mar 2011 at 9:27 am

Notify me of followup comments via e-mail. You can also subscribe without commenting.

Post a Comment

You must be logged in to post a comment.