Triatoma sanguisuga (LeConte)

Reeves, Will K., Durden, Lance A. & Wrenn, William J., 2004, Ectoparasitic chiggers (Acari: Trombiculidae, Leeuwenhoekiidae), lice (Phthiraptera), and Hemiptera (Cimicidae and Reduviidae) from South Carolina, U. S. A., Zootaxa 647, pp. 1-20 : 16-17

Triatoma sanguisuga (LeConte)

Aiken Co., Aiken, 4 May 1939, coll. J.N. Todd; Barnwell Co., Edisto Research and Education Center, 17 July 1999, in a tree, coll. A. Hagrety; Calhoun Co., Cameron, 17 June 1980, light trap, coll. W. Hendrix; Charleston Co., Seabrooks Island, ex Neotoma sp. nest, 25 March 1934, coll. O.L. Cartwright; Greenville Co., Greenville, 17 September 1956, biting woman, coll. J. Clarence; Florence Co., in forest, 16 February 1964, ex under tree bark, coll. V.M. Kirk; Jasper Co., Ridgeland, 29 October 1990, ex feeding on human; Hampton Co., Garnet, 17 July 1941, ex in bed/bit human, coll. M. Baxter; Lexington Co., 5 November 1964, coll. B.L. Kmort; Pickens Co., Clemson, 3 April 1968, in house; 3 June 1984, coll. J.R. Brushwein; 23 October 1989, South Carolina Horticultural Gardens, coll. S.L. Dobson; Richland Co., Columbia, 6 August 1955, "sucking blood of a child", coll. H.S. Monteith; Spartanburg Co., Campobello, 7 May 1960, coll. W.D. Collins; Union Co. location unlisted, 18 July 1957, coll. Cochran.

Triatoma sanguisuga apparently invades human homes but does not establish permanent infestations. Yabsley & Noblet (2002) reported T. cruzi in urban mammals and T.

sanguisuga is a potential vector of T. cruzi in South Carolina. The bite of T. sanguisuga can cause severe allergic reactions. The bug from Greenville County bit a woman and caused severe itching and swelling. According to Marshall & Street (1982), severe allergic reactions to the bite of Triatoma spp. pose a real threat to humans.

Most of the ectoparasitic arthropods we report are of no direct threat to humans or domestic animals and are not known to transmit parasites or pathogens to their hosts. However, we did report both T. lecticularia and T. sanguisuga from houses where they could bite or defecate near people or their pets. Yabsley & Noblet (2002) noted that urban mammals in South Carolina are infected by T. cruzi . The presence of potential vectors in domiciles implies South Carolinians are exposed to this pathogen. We also noted the presence of C. lectularius , the human bed bug, in homes across the state. This ectoparasite is still an urban pest in South Carolina and could be significant in the future. In addition to the blood­feeding Heteroptera, we reported collections of five lice, H. suis , P. humanus , P. spinulosa , N. sciuropteri , and T. canis , that are known vectors or intermediate hosts of human or animal pathogens. Our checklist is undoubtedly incomplete and a thorough investigation of other potential hosts will unveil other lice and chiggers in South Carolina. For example, the tropical rat louse, Hoplopleura pacifica Ewing , infests rats in Savannah, Georgia (Pratt & Good 1954) and thus is probably in South Carolina. Some lice such as Heterodoxus spiniger Enderlein could be introduced with feral or domestic animals.