Talk:Reduviidae
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[edit] Feeding
Hematophagy says that assassin bugs are hematophagous. This page gives a different feeding habit of assassin bugs. Which is correct? Or is it both? Jon the Geek July 9, 2005 16:19 (UTC)
[edit] Kissing?
"Some reduviidea, particularly Triatoma spp., are also known as kissing bugs due to the most common location of bites on humans."
As somebody who doesn't know anything about these bugs, I don't know how to interpret this sentence. Does this mean that the bites are usually on people's lips? Or their necks? Or what? MrCheshire 21:33, 9 July 2005 (UTC)
Yes the bites are usually made near the soft skin of the lips while the victim is asleep.
- I added this. The article now reads "...known as kissing bugs due to the most common location of bites on humans being near the soft tissue of the lips." --NormalAsylum (talk) 16:50, 31 July 2005 (UTC)
[edit] Image
[edit] Image
Not long ago, I was strolling through a bug-infested forest near Dongducheon, South Korea (I mean that in a good way), and I came across this insect:
Before I link this image to any type of article, I would like to know if this mystery insect is of the Triatominae species. It immediately seems to me that it is part of this species, but I am not too sure. I am no expert of insects, so I am wondering if someone more knowledgeable than me can demistify this critter on mere observation. Thanks!--Merkurix 15:43, 18 July 2006 (UTC)
- This is not an asassin bug, but a plant-feeding memeber of the family Alydidae Dyanega 22:20, 8 February 2007 (UTC)
[edit] Measurement conversion
If one inch is 2.56 centimetres, then how can 1.5 inches be 3.3 centimetres? It should be 3.81 centimetres, or 38mm. I'm not changing it because I don't know whether it's the inches or the mm that's wrong in the article, and I'm too lazy to look it up. --Anchoress 22:24, 20 August 2006 (UTC)
[edit] PLEASE give citations for sensational claims
A sensational passage such as this one by an anonymous editor[1]:
- Entomologist are researching the lethal toxins which reside within the Assasin Bug. The chemical compound of the lethal toxin is chemically structured of that to King Cobra venom. Due to it's abundance relative to certain species of venomous snakes, researchers are currently exploring the possibility of using the Assassin Bug's toxin as a replacement for Cobra anti-venom. However, this is unlikely due to the small amount of toxin that could be extracted from each insect.
is so highly implausible, and so incredibly vague, as to be necessary to remove from the article until and unless an actual citation can be given, most especially including the name of the species in question (with over 7000 species in the family, saying "THE assassin bug" is more than a little silly - it's like saying "THE mammal"). I am unaware, after some 30 years studying insects, of a single species of insect whose venom (be it bite or sting) is routinely lethal to humans, in the dose administered by a single individual. Honey bee venom is lethal when it is injected by hundreds of bees, but a single bee sting cannot kill a person who is not allergic. Even the venom of Lonomia caterpillars, about as potent as any known insect venom gets, typically requires the venom of several larvae before it has lethal effects. Again, it is a disservice to readers to supply them with misinformation, and simply putting a "citation neeed" flag is not enough when the text in question is potentially so egregiously wrong. This "King Cobra" meme has already propagated (thanks to Google's linking of this page), and it's not a good thing when Wikipedia itself becomes the source of new urban legends. Dyanega 23:05, 8 February 2007 (UTC)
