The Assassin bugs are a large family of predatory insects, but the vast majority of species are exclusive to tropical areas. Only 6 species occur in the British Isles.
The above heath assassin bug was beautifully camouflaged and only its movement betrayed its presence. Many other reduvid bugs have a much gaudier colour scheme...
In South America there are a few species of reduvid bug that feed on mammalian blood, particularly members of the Triatoma and Rodnius genuses. These insects are responsible for the transmission of the kinetoplastid parasite, Trypanosoma cruzi, which causes Chagas' Disease.
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