POISONOUS INSECTS AND THEIR RELATIVES 419 



The kissing bug craze apparently began in the city of 

 Washington, but soon spread over the whole United States. 

 L. O. Howard investigated the matter at the time and 

 found that at least two species were apparently re- 

 sponsible for the origin of many of the reports. He 

 found that these two species, the "cannibal bug," Reduvius 

 personatus, and the 

 kissing bug, Melano- 

 lestes picipes, were 

 more abundant than 

 usual around Washing- 

 ton and that they had 

 been taken in the act 

 of biting people. 



The cannibal bug 

 (Fig. 145) is a Euro- 

 pean species that was 

 introduced into this 

 country many years 

 ago. It frequents 

 houses for the purpose, 

 apparently, of preying 

 upon bedbugs. The 

 young of this insect 



are covered with a sticky substance to which all kinds 

 of lint and dust adhere, so that they are most com- 

 pletely masked by particles of dust and foreign materials. 



In fact, a young bug resembles an animated moving 

 mass of lint. Comstock has very aptly called this insect 

 the "masked bedbug hunter." They live, however, 

 upon flies and other insects as well as upon begbugs. 

 Riley in describing the habits of the insect says: "They 



Fig. 145. — The cannibal bug (R. per- 

 sonatus). (X 2.) 



