The insect feeds on mammalian blood - piercing the lips, eyelids or ears of a sleeping victim. The problem is that the feeding process can cause anaphylactic shock or even Chagas disease as the insect is the vector for the trypanosome responsible.
Other species include Triatoma sanguisuga, Triatoma lecticularia, Triatoma indictiva, Triatoma rubrofasciata and a lot more.