Development of an operational trap for collection, killing, and preservation of triatomines (Hemiptera: Reduviidae): the kissing bug kill trap.

Surveillance of triatomines or kissing bugs (Hemiptera: Reduviidae: Triatominae), the insect vectors of Trypanosoma cruzi, a Chagas disease agent, is hindered by the lack of an effective trap. To develop a kissing bug trap, we made iterative improvements over 3 years on a basic design resulting in 7 trap prototypes deployed across field sites in Texas, United States and Northern Mexico, yielding the capture of 325 triatomines of 4 species (Triatoma gerstaeckeri [Stål], T. sanguisuga [LeConte], T.

Phenology and environmental predictors of Triatoma sanguisuga dispersal in east-central Texas, United States.

Of 11 triatomine species in the United States (US), Triatoma sanguisuga has the widest distribution across a 23-state region encompassing the southeastern US. This species consistently feeds on humans and dogs and has a high infection prevalence with the Chagas parasite Trypanosoma cruzi, with over 30-60% of adults infected. Little is known about the phenology and environmental predictors of dispersal activity of Triatoma sanguisuga.

Meta-Analysis of the Relative Abundance of Nuisance and Vector Mosquitoes in Urban and Blue-Green Spaces.

Blue-green spaces (BGSs), urban areas characterized by the presence of vegetation and or water, and infrastructure form a potential solution for public health threats from increasing urbanization. We conducted a meta-analysis to test the hypothesis that blue-green spaces increase the abundance of nuisance and vector mosquito species compared to non-greened urban areas. After screening 7306 studies published since 1992, we identified 18 studies containing sufficient data from both traditional urban areas and BGSs.