Triatoma or kissing bugs are true bugs in the order Hemiptera found throughout the Americas. Adults are blood-feeding insects and tend to hide during the day in dark areas of the home such as cracks in the walls and ceiling and come out at night to feed.

Their size ranges from ½ inch to over 1 ¼ inches long. They have a long cone-shaped head with a slender beak-like mouth part. Many, but not all adult kissing bugs will have red-orange banding on their abdomen.

The immature stages range in size, do not have red-orange bands on the abdomen, and do not have wings. These stages will also take blood meals and can transmit Chagas disease.

Look-alikes

Many other true bugs look like kissing bugs. Many of these bugs feed on plants or insects. Please look at the pictures below along with these photos. https://kissingbug.tamu.edu/found-a-bug/#non-kissing-bugs