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We are traveling to Ontario to visit family next month, so I won’t do a newsletter. This month is late because we are renovating a bathroom, and I forgot.

While researching the Kissing Bug—also called the Assassin Bug—I was glad I had never personally encountered it. They are attracted to CO2, something humans expel regularly, since we breathe in air and breathe out CO2. Kissing Bugs remind me of bedbugs because they can hide in bedding. They congregate around the mouth, face and eyes, attracted by the CO2, where they bite the host. Their bites show up as reddish areas around the mouth or eyes and are harmless, but when the skin is disturbed, it can be serious and lead to an infection called Chagas disease.

Although they prefer warmer weather and are more prevalent in the south, they have been found in British Columbia, Canada. Because of the name Kissing Bug, I emphasized the lips and made it blonde, because everyone knows “blondes have more fun”.