kissing bug A name given to several American genera of Reduviidae which feed on the blood of mammals and birds. Some species live in and around human dwellings, where they can transmit the blood parasite Trypanosoma cruzi, responsible for the debilitating Chagas's disease.

kissing bug Name given to several American genera of Reduviidae that feed on the blood of mammals and birds. Some species live in and around human dwellings, where they can transmit the blood parasite Trypanosoma cruzi, responsible for the debilitating Chagas's disease.