kissing bug

kissing bug

(kĭs′ĭng)

n.

See conenose.

As commonly used, any bug that acts as a vector for Chagas disease, so named because they often bite on the face. It is a cone-nosed haematophagous insect with various hosts in the tropics and subtropics; it measures 1-4 cm and is ‘autumn-colored’; its bite elicits papules, painful urticaria, haemorrhagic bulla, occasionally angiooedema, anaphylactoid reaction, and shock; it is also the vector for trypanosoma—Chaga’s disease—causing inflammation, atrophy and fibrosis of Auerbach’s plexus ganglion cells, resulting in acquired megacolon

bug

(bug)

1. A colloquial term for any small insect or arthropod, esp. of the order Hemiptera, that has sucking mouth parts, incomplete metamorphosis, and two pairs of wings, the fore pair being half membranous. See: bedbug; chigger

2. A colloquial term for a disease-causing germ or microorganism.

assassin bug

Any member of the family Reduviidae. Many are predaceous; others are bloodsucking. Panstrongylus, Triatoma, and Rhodnius are vectors of Chagas disease.

See: conenose; trypanosomiasis

cone-nose bug

, cone-nosed bugConenose.

croton bug

German cockroach.

kissing bug

Conenose.

red bug

Chigger.

kissing bug

The reduviid bug that transmits CHAGAS' DISEASE. It is so called because its nocturnal bite is barely felt.