Chagas disease is a chronic and debilitating parasitosis caused by a trypanosome that is vectored by a biting bug in rural areas.
Others, members of the subfamily Phymatinae in particular, have forelegs that resemble those of the praying mantis, and they catch and hold their prey in a similar way to mantis.
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The saliva of the reduviid species Rhynocoris marginatus (Fab.) and Catamirus brevipennis (Servile) have anti-bacterial activity towards the human pathogens Gram-negative bacteria (Escherichia coli, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Proteus vulgaris, Salmonella typhimurium) and one Gram-positive (Streptococcus pyogenes).