| BIOLOGY |
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Conenoses (known also as Triatoma, kissing bugs, or China bedbugs)
live exclusively on the blood of animals, including man. They frequently
attack sleeping humans at night. The bite from most species is painless and
results in a localized reaction. Some people are sensitive to the bites of
conenoses and may experience intense itching, nausea, flushed face, palpitation
of the heart, rapid breathing and pulse, and hives. Such severe reactions
may be signs of analphylactic shock and require medical attention.
The adult females lay eggs in summer months. The eggs hatch in 2 to 5 weeks
and the young nymphs take blood meals in between growth periods until after
the fifth nymphal stage when they become adults. The cycle from egg to adult
usually takes 1 year.
Conenose bugs live in the nests of wood rats (Neotoma), pack rats,
but also invade the beds of human beings. In California they sometimes are
found flying to lights and at such time they may fly into houses. Residents
of foothill areas surrounding the Central Valley and of the foothills and
desert areas of southern California are most often troubled by these pests.
Conenose bugs have been found naturally infested with the microscopic parasite
that causes Chagas disease in man. However, no human cases of the disease
have been reported in California.
The western spotted corsair (Rasahus thoracicus) is an insect that
looks somewhat like the conenoses and is included with them. It has an orange
and black body and an orange spot on each wing. The feeding habits of the
western spotted corsair are quite different from those of the Triatoma
bugs, since it feeds on other insects. It is frequently attracted to lights
in warm areas of California and, if picked up or handled carelessly by man,
it may inflict a painful bite, the effect of which is at least as severe
as that of a bee sting.