Triatoma sanguisuga

Look Closely: Kissing Bug Look-Alikes
Wheel Bug
boggs.47@osu.edu Thu, 09/18/2025 - 18:19
The BYGL Alert posted this past Tuesday on our native Ohio Kissing Bug, Triatoma sanguisuga (family Reduviidae, subfamily Triatominae), known as the bloodsucking conenose, is generating reports based on mistaken identities.
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Joe Boggs
The Ohio Kissing Bug Conundrum
Kissing Bug
boggs.47@osu.edu Tue, 09/16/2025 - 19:12
This Alert is being posted because of the number of pictures and specimens I’ve recently received of adult kissing bugs being found in Ohio homes. The kissing bugs are native to Ohio and are called the bloodsucking conenose.
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Joe Boggs

Wheel Bugs are on the Hunt: Look but Don’t Touch!

Wheel Bug
Keep your eyes peeled for adult Wheel Bugs (Arilus cristatus, family Reduviidae) if you’re working among the branches of landscape trees and shrubs. The bugs are highly beneficial. They use their piercing-sucking mouthparts to extract the essence-of-insect from soft-bodied prey such as caterpillars and sawfly larvae. However, they may occasionally use their insecticidal equipment to deliver painful bites to people.
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Joe Boggs
Kayla I. Perry
Kissing Bugs in Ohio Homes
Bloodsucking Conenose
boggs.47@osu.edu Fri, 08/18/2023 - 11:21
This Alert is being posted because of the number of pictures and specimens I’ve recently received of adult kissing bugs being found in Ohio homes. The kissing bugs are native to Ohio and called the bloodsucking conenose.
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Joe Boggs
An Ohio Kissing Bug
Bloodsucking Conenose
boggs.47@osu.edu Sat, 04/15/2023 - 10:47
The native kissing bug nymph (immature) shown in the lead photograph for this BYGL Alert was given to me last week by a couple who live in eastern Hamilton County, OH. The nymph was collected inside their home. The scientific name for the bug is Triatoma sanguisuga.
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Joe Boggs

A Kissing Bug in Ohio: Don’t Panic!

Bloodsucking Conenose
This past week, the Kissing Bug Triatoma sanguisuga was identified from images sent to OSU Entomology from a resident in Warren County and to OSU Extension, Butler County, from a resident in that county. This kissing bug was given the approved common name of Bloodsucking Conenose by the Entomological Society of America (ESA).
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Joe Boggs
Western Conifer Seed Bugs Don't Kiss ... People
Western Conifer Seed Bug
boggs.47@osu.edu Thu, 04/21/2022 - 13:19
Rising spring temperatures have been rousing fall home invaders from their winter slumber inside wall voids, attics, etc. The intruders migrated into these spaces last fall through openings around window frames and door jams. Attics with unscreened outdoor vents or poorly fitting soffits can become 5-star bug hotels.
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Joe Boggs

Assassins are on the Loose!

Wheel Bug Nymph
It’s common for people to call all insects bugs. However, entomologists reserve the bug name for a specific group of insects that belong to the suborder Heteroptera (order Hemiptera). To emphasize the point, entomologists refer to these heteropteran insects as the true bugs which may imply we consider all other insects to be false bugs but that’s not true.
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Joe Boggs
Assassins are Roaming Around, but Don't Panic
Wheel Bug
boggs.47@osu.edu Sat, 07/06/2019 - 09:40
Insects belonging to the Hemipteran family Reduviidae are collectively known as “Assassin Bugs.” The family includes over 190 species in North America and they are all are meat eaters. The common name for the family clearly describes how these stealthy hunters make a living.
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Joe Boggs
Kissing Bug Hysteria Rises Again
boggs.47@osu.edu Thu, 04/25/2019 - 18:29
Several national news networks reported yesterday that a kissing bug had been found in Delaware.  The story was echoed today by a number of print and online news outlets.  Frankly, the story is much ado about nothing.
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Joe Boggs
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