
Citizen scientist hunts for kissing bugs - aabaker99
https://www.statnews.com/2016/08/10/chagas-disease-kissing-bugs-hunt/
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mhurron
[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Triatominae](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Triatominae)

They're also called assassin bugs and are pretty common. If you treat around
your house for bugs like ticks, fleas, ants and termites you're probably using
an insecticide that will also control these things.

Yes I know ticks aren't bugs, but none of what I listed are true bugs.

And now my skin is itchy.

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whyenot
Both kissing bugs and assassin bugs are both true bugs in the family
Reduviidae, but they are not the same thing. Kissing bugs that can spread
Chagas are not common outside the extreme southern portion of the US.

By the way, not only are ticks not bugs, they aren't even insects, they are
arachnids. Many insecticides have no effect on them.

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somethingsimple
Thanks for the peace of mind. I've seen many assassin bugs in my apartment in
the Seattle area and sometimes worry that one of us might have been bitten by
them and have Chagas. I guess we're safe in this area.

~~~
whyenot
Here is a map of the states where the kissing bugs that vector Chagas disease
have been been reported in the US.

[http://www.cdc.gov/parasites/chagas/gen_info/vectors/](http://www.cdc.gov/parasites/chagas/gen_info/vectors/)

This doesn't mean the bugs are common in these states, or even when bugs are
present, that they have the parasite responsible for Chagas.

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tzs
> Partially, it was for financial reasons. If he spent 100 hours participating
> in scientific research on his land, he could reduce his property taxes by
> more than half.

That's interesting. Anyone know offhand how that works?

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kristianp
Googled "100 hours participating scientific research land property taxes".
Third result:

Timber Taxation: A General Guide for Forestland Owners
[http://extension.psu.edu/natural-
resources/forests/finance/f...](http://extension.psu.edu/natural-
resources/forests/finance/forest-tax-info/tax-information/timber-taxation-a-
general-guide-for-forestland-owners)

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ktRolster
_“Behind all of that knowledge is a basic principle,” he said. “The closer you
look, the weirder it gets.”_

It's a fractal

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pvaldes
Curious guy. The kind of people able to make things regrowth after their
footseps. They are scarce and often elusive.

~~~
MrJagil
Watch "The Man Who Planted Trees" by Frederic Bac; tremendous film, best there
evere was on the subject of regrowth.

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whyenot
Just to be clear, there is a test and a treatment for Chagas disease (although
not necessarily a cure).

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chr1
I wonder if it is possible to use gene drive against this bugs? As the article
says biting us is a "capital offense" and getting rid of mosquitos, ticks,
tsetse and this horrible thing, would improve life of many people.

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rince
You know a clear picture of a kissing bug would greatly enhance this article

~~~
otoburb
I agree with you. But since a clear picture wasn't included, here's our
friendly CDC providing the lifecycle dvelopment of this bug[1].

[1]
[http://www.cdc.gov/parasites/chagas/gen_info/vectors/triatom...](http://www.cdc.gov/parasites/chagas/gen_info/vectors/triatomine_stages_lg.html)

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Natsu
I wonder if these could (and should?) be wiped out like that plan to wipe out
the mosquitoes by releasing sterile ones.

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taneq
From the title I assumed we were talking about glandular fever.

~~~
pacaro
FYI known to Americans as "mono" or "infectious mononucleosis" \- I've heard
it called "kissing disease" but rarely

~~~
taneq
And in the reverse direction, it took me ages (and maybe a web search) before
I figured out that "mono" was glandular fever.

What's going to be really interesting in the future is "regional" vernacular
being split along online community lines more than geographic lines, so you'll
get the same cultural confusion talking to your neighbour as you currently do
talking to fellow internet posters.

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qntty
this is terrifying

