Chagas Disease

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.

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.

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.