About
- Several species of triatomine bugs are present in the United States.
- Read about key characteristics of the different species and see their distribution across the United States below.
Paratriatoma hirsuta
Key characteristics
- Long, dark hairs covering entire body
- Head short, strongly convex above
- Overall color various shades of brown, body shiny
- Legs short with long hairs
Triatoma gerstaeckeri
Key characteristics
- Yellow markings extending horizontally on abdominal segments
- Head long, flattened on top
- Mouthparts relatively hairless with longer hairs at tip
- Pronotum uniformly black
- Tip of scutellum long, narrow
- Legs slender, long
Triatoma incrassata
Key characteristics
- Abdomen entirely yellow underneath with distinct yellow margin around edge on top
- Head elevated above eyes in lateral view
- Mouthparts with short hairs, longer hairs on terminal segment
- Pronotum uniformly dark
- Tip of scutellum short, broad
Triatoma indictiva
Key characteristics
- Reddish-orange markings extending horizontally on abdominal segments confined to ~1/5 of each segment
- Pronotum uniformly black
- Wings without prominent, light-colored markings
Triatoma lecticularia
Key characteristics
- Dark hairs covering entire body
- Orange-yellow markings extending horizontally on abdominal segments
- Mouthparts with hairs on all segments, denser on terminal segments
- Pronotum with orange-yellow lateral markings
- Legs covered with hair
Triatoma neotomae
Key characteristics
- Body shiny, abdomen longitudinally flattened underneath
- Black, irregularly-shaped band on each abdominal segment surrounded by yellow markings
- Mouthparts with hairs on all segments, denser at junction of terminal 2 segments forming a brushlike structure
- Wings with distinct orange to pale yellow markings on basal half
- Legs short, stout
Triatoma protracta
Key characteristics
- Overall dark brown to black
- Mouthparts with short hairs; becoming longer at tip
- Pronotum uniformly light brown to black
- Tip of scutellum short, broad
- Legs short, stout
Triatoma recurva
Key characteristics
- Yellow-orange margin around outer edge of abdomen; abdomen wide often strongly curved up at edges
- Mouthparts relatively hairless with longer hairs at tip
- Pronotum uniformly dark colored
- Tip of scutellum long, narrow
- Wings uniformly dark colored
- Legs long, slender
Triatoma rubida
Key characteristics
- Pale margin around outer edge of abdomen, abdomen flattened longitudinally underneath
- 1st antennal segment reaches or surpasses tip of head
- Mouthparts with long hairs at tip
- Overall color light reddish brown to dark brown
- Pronotum dark with light areas on sides
Triatoma rubrofasciata
Key characteristics
- Orange-red margin on outer edge of abdomen, extending horizontally between segments
- 1st antennal segment surpasses tip of head
- Short hairs on mouthparts becoming progressively longer towards tip
- Scutellum broad, triangular to tip
- Orange-red margin on sides of pronotum
- Abdomen flattened longitudinally underneath
