What Is a Kissing Bug?

By james

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When the summer time comes, a lot of people will have trouble with biting insects. There are more insects around in the summer and they are going to be hungry, and a drink of your blood may be just what they are after. While they can be annoying and even painful, however, insect bites are not usually a danger to us.

In parts of America, however, there is a bug that can be very dangerous indeed, albeit in a very small number of cases. The kissing bug is an insect that is found in the warmer regions of the continent. It will feed on the blood of people given the opportunity, and a bite from one of these can make us very ill.

1. Kissing Bugs

Kissing bugs are insects that belong to the triatominae family of bugs. They are also sometimes known as vampire bugs, and there are more than 130 species of them that we know of. The great naturalist Charles Darwin once wrote about these insects in his book: The voyage of The Beagle.

Kissing bugs are found mainly in some parts of Central and South America, including much of Mexico. They are also found in some western and some southern American states, although they are not common there. They get their name from their habit of feeding around peoples’ mouths at night when they are sleeping.