News

Texas kissing bug population spike could increase risk of Chagas disease in dogs, humans

July 17, 2020 by Rob Williams

Texas A&M AgriLife experts tell how to report sightings, contact

by Gabe Saldana, Texas A&M AgriLife Marketing and Communications

A T.gerstaeckeri, commonly known as the kissing bug, photographed in nature by Gabe Hamer, Texas A&M AgriLife Research.

Texas A&M AgriLife Research entomologists have seen an increase in kissing bugs collected in multiple regions of the state this year. The insects carry a parasite that can cause potentially fatal Chagas disease in humans and animals.

“We have already collected over 300 adult kissing bug specimens in a location where we only collected six individuals in 2019,” said Gabriel Hamer, Ph.D., AgriLife Research entomologist, College Station. He is also a member of the Texas Chagas Taskforce — a group of experts raising awareness about the disease.

The collection site Hamer described is near Mission, about a four-hour drive south of San Antonio. He collected 115 kissing bugs there in about three hours one night in May.

“The lab’s kissing bug collections from College Station are also higher than in normal years,” he said.

Texas Chagas Taskforce organizer Paula Stigler Granados, Ph.D., assistant professor at Texas State University in San Marcos, also cited an unusually high number of kissing bug photos from people being sent through the group’s Facebook page.

“The TAMU Kissing Bug Citizen Science program has also been very active in recent weeks,” said Sarah Hamer, Ph.D., associate professor in the Texas A&M College of Veterinary Medicine & Biomedical Sciences, College Station. The program evaluates bug submissions from the public — more than 9,000 across 27 states since 2013.

AgriLife entomologists across the state continue to search for factors leading to above-average number of kissing bug encounters.

The kissing bug

This image by Gabriel Hamer, Texas A&M AgriLife Research, shows the full life cycle of T.gerstaeckeri, one of the insects commonly known as the kissing bug. — This image by Gabriel Hamer, Texas A&M AgriLife Research, shows the full life cycle of *T.gerstaeckeri*, one of the insects commonly known as the kissing bug.

“Kissing bug” is a common name for a group of bugs called triatomines. These blood-sucking insects persist across the southern U.S., Mexico, Central America and South America, especially during the hottest months of summer, experts said.

They are a bit longer than the width of a penny, with head and mouth parts resembling cones. Their other common name, Gabriel Hamer said, is cone-nosed bugs.

Kissing Bugs and Chagas Disease fact sheet screenshot

“There are many other insects that do not feed on blood, which resemble kissing bugs, so it is important to be able to distinguish the species,” he said.

About 11 species of kissing bugs are found in the U.S., each with subtle differences in dark brown, black and orange color patterns. An infographic factsheet on kissing bugs and the potentially fatal Chagas disease is available from the Texas Chagas Taskforce for free online.

Kissing Bugs and Chagas Disease

Kissing bugs usually feed on blood at night when animals or people are sleeping. Bites are often painless, and many people do not realize they have been bitten. The nocturnal insect is attracted to lights and lives in a range of outdoor environments. Kissing bugs can feed on dogs, wild mammals, birds, humans and even other insects, like crickets, said Sarah Hamer.

Chagas disease

The main risk of disease comes from a parasite in the kissing bug’s intestines and feces — Trypanosoma cruzi. Research shows about 50-60% of kissing bugs in Texas might be infected, Gabriel Hamer said. About 25% of the people they infect with Chagas develop serious chronic disease. Most infected people remain unaware of their infection and might stay symptom-free for life.

“Even so,” he said, “we know transmission is inefficient, and studies show that a person usually needs to be bitten many times by an infected kissing bug before the transmission of the parasite to the person occurs.”

Chagas disease manifests in an initial “acute” phase with symptoms that can include fever, fatigue, body aches, headache, rash, loss of appetite, diarrhea and vomiting, or there may be no symptoms at all. Some infected persons, roughly 30%, later develop a “chronic” phase. It includes a range of cardiac and intestinal complications that might only appear decades after initial infection.

The disease also affects a wide range of domestic and wild animals.

“There is increasing recognition for canine Chagas disease, especially in Texas, where increasing numbers of household pets, working dogs and hunting dogs are being diagnosed with Chagas disease,” said Sarah Hamer.

The FAQ section of Texas A&M’s official kissing bug website includes detailed information on Chagas disease as well as resources for more about diagnosis and treatment.

Finding a kissing bug

Kissing bugs suspected of having bitten a human and found inside a Texas home should be sent to Texas Department of State Health Services for testing in conjunction with the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Anyone bitten by a kissing bug should speak with a doctor about further testing. Animal owners who suspect animal contact with kissing bugs should consult a veterinarian.

Kissing bugs found outside, and not suspected of biting any humans, may be sent to Texas A&M University Kissing Bug Citizen Science Program for free identification and testing. The program’s website includes information resources for all Texas residents and specific information for pet owners and veterinarians.

Kissing bug environments

Texas A&M AgriLife experts suggest staying especially aware of kissing bug presences in these areas:

Beneath porches
Between rocky structures
Under cement
In rock, wood, brush piles, or beneath bark
In rodent nests or animal burrows
In outdoor dog houses or kennels
In chicken coops

It’s big, but it’s not a ‘murder hornet’

July 2, 2020 by Rob Williams

Texas A&M AgriLife experts say Texans mistakenly identifying cicada killer wasps as Asian giant hornets

by Kay Ledbetter, Texas A&M AgriLife Marketing and Communications

Many insects are being mistaken for the Asian giant hornet.

Since the release of information about Asian giant hornets, Texas A&M AgriLife entomologists are being inundated with cicada killers and other lookalike insects submitted for identification as a possible “murder hornet,” which thus far has only been found in Washington state in the U.S.

While the agency wants to continue to encourage Texans to be vigilant in watching for the Asian giant hornet, they also want to help provide guidance that will help narrow the focus.

David Ragsdale, Ph.D., chief scientific officer and associate director of Texas A&M AgriLife Research, and professor in the Department of Entomology, said many photos of Texas native cicada killers, or ground hornets, are being submitted as suspected Asian giant hornets. He said their website receives five to 10 photos a day, and agency pest management agents and specialists around the state have also been handling inquiries.

It’s a bird, it’s a plane … it’s a cicada killer

In May, the concern about Asian giant hornet was enough to prompt Gov. Greg Abbott to request a task force be mobilized to prepare Texas against the Asian giant hornet’s arrival.

A cicada killer wasp and burrow. These are being confused for Asian giant hornets. (Texas A&M AgriLife photo by Dr. Pat Porter)

But June is the normal month for the cicada killer wasp, a common large wasp in Texas, to start showing up and this prompted posts on Facebook and in news feeds mistakenly reporting cicada killer wasps as sightings of the Asian giant hornet.

“Most everyone has seen the cicada killer wasp that is very large, but has mostly been ignored in the past,” Ragsdale said. “With the most recent news of the Asian giant hornet, they are now paying attention to the native Texas insect.”

While some people thought they had been seeing the newly pictured murder hornets for years, AgriLife Extension experts want to clarify, “No, you haven’t.” Now they are providing outlets to help tell the difference between the Asian giant hornet and similar looking pests.

Holly Davis, Ph.D., Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service entomologist in Weslaco, and Pat Porter, Ph.D., AgriLife Extension entomologist in Lubbock, recently developed a short video explaining the differences between the “murder hornet” and several common lookalikes here in Texas.

“To date, we have identified hundreds of insects that people in Texas suspect might be Asian giant hornets (murder hornets),” Porter said. “Eighty percent of these have been either the eastern cicada killer or western cicada killer. It is understandable how non-entomologists would have trouble deciding which was which.”

How to tell the difference

“First, the Asian giant hornet is native to Japan and South Korea, and it has only been found in parts of British Columbia, Canada and the northwestern corner of Washington state,” Davis said. “There have been no confirmed reports of these hornets in other U.S. locations, including Texas.”

There are a number of Texas native species of wasp, hornet, yellow jacket and bees, but what really separates Asian giant hornet and a few of our native species is their size. The ones most likely to be confused with Asian giant hornet are three species of cicada killers and the pigeon horntail.

The Asian giant hornet is the world’s largest known hornet measuring 1.5-2 inches in length. It has a head as wide as its shoulders, where the wings and legs are located, or wider, and it is a bright orange or yellow. The thorax, or shoulder portion where the wings and legs are connected, is a dark brown, as are the antenna. It has a much smaller or pinched waist and then smooth looking brown and orange stripes cover the abdomen.

The cicada killers, of which there are three different species here in Texas, are also quite large, measuring 1-1.5 inches in length. But they will all typically have a head that is narrower than the thorax. The head and the thorax are typically the same color, a darker orange or brown color. It does also have a pinched waist. But the stripes on the abdomen will be jagged and sometimes look like mountains.

The eastern cicada killer tends to be black and yellow. The western cicada killer is closer in color to the Asian giant hornet, being reddish brown and yellow. But there is no contrasting color between the head and thorax and the stripes are jagged on the western cicada killer.

The other group of insects that are most commonly confused with the Asian giant hornet are the horntail or wood wasps. They are large, have a distinct head that is as wide or wider than the thorax, and may share the same coloration as the Asian giant hornet. However, there is one trait that is easy to spot that is different, and that is the waist. Horntails lack any appearance of a waist.

Harmful or just alarming

The Asian giant hornet preys on bees and can decimate local honey bee populations, essential for most fruit and vegetable crop production. The Asian giant hornets also are fiercely protective of their nests and will deploy painful stings that can cause fatal allergic reactions in people already sensitive to bee stings.

The cicada killer and wood wasps, however, are solitary and thus do not aggressively protect their nesting sites by attacking in large numbers, Davis said. Cicada killers, however, may cause alarm due to the males’ territorial behavior, dive-bombing or buzzing people and animals that walk into their territory.

“Although cicada killers are solitary, you can often find numerous individuals in areas with sandy soils where females dig nests in the ground,” she said. “These nests appear as dime to quarter sized holes. As females come and go, provisioning their nest with cicadas they paralyze with a sting and carry back to their nests.

“The males are more interested in mating. Thus, they may try to chase off intruders they perceive as a threat to their mating opportunities. However, male wasps are not capable of stinging, thus they are not dangerous, just a nuisance for a few weeks out of the year during the nesting season. Females can sting but are not aggressive and reports of stings are rare.”

Horntails and wood wasps may have what appear to be very long stingers, but they are unable to sting. They lack venom glands and instead they use this structure, called an ovipositor, to insert eggs into plant tissue, hence the name wood wasp, Davis said.

Longtime Texas A&M leader, nationally recognized entomologist passes

June 26, 2020 by Rob Williams

From professor to chancellor, Perry Adkisson advanced agriculture, Texas A&M

by Kay Ledbetter, Texas A&M AgriLife Marketing and Communications

Perry Adkisson, Ph.D., former Texas A&M University System leader and internationally known agricultural scientist in the area of entomology, has died.

Adkisson became a professor of entomology at Texas A&M in 1958, and went on to serve as the chancellor of the Texas A&M University System from 1986 until 1990, before retiring in 1994 as a distinguished professor. During his long career at Texas A&M, he also served as deputy chancellor, vice president for agriculture and renewable resources, and head of the Department of Entomology.

“Texas A&M and Texas agriculture are eternally grateful for the contributions Dr. Adkisson made during his years of service,” said Patrick Stover, Ph.D., vice chancellor of Texas A&M AgriLife, dean of the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences and director of Texas A&M AgriLife Research. “His leadership and dedication will serve as an example for all faculty, current and future.”

Adkisson makes a difference in agriculture

Adkisson was an early pioneer in developing the concepts for integrated pest management through his research on control of the insect pests of cotton. He led the development of highly successful integrated control programs for the boll weevil, bollworm and other key pests of cotton and saw these programs implemented on millions of acres of Texas cotton. He also was instrumental in the development and implementation of similar programs for other major Texas crops.

His most important work was toward preventing the spread of the boll weevil in the High Plains of Texas. The weevil was discovered there in 1962, and the farmers on the High Plains became very concerned. Adkisson helped develop a diapause control program that not only prevented the spread of the weevil, but virtually eliminated it from the High Plains. The success of this program led to the development of an eradication program.

Dr. Perry Adkisson stands in high cotton on the High Plains. (Texas A&M AgriLife photo)

Adkisson makes a difference at Texas A&M

As Chancellor, Adkisson worked with the State legislature and U.S. Congress to increase funding by almost 50% for the research, teaching and extension programs of the Texas A&M System. He established several new research-teaching centers, including the Institute of Biosciences and Technology in Houston, and gained approval for the construction of several new buildings. He also successfully led the effort to bring Corpus Christi State University, Texas A&I University, now Texas A&M University-Kingsville, Laredo State University and West Texas State University, now West Texas A&M University into Texas A&M System.

Shortly after President George H. W. Bush was elected, Adkisson began working to get President Bush and the U.S. National Archives to locate Bush’s presidential library on the Texas A&M campus. He later was named executive director of the Bush Presidential Library Center and the George H. W. Bush Presidential Library Foundation.

He also was named a Regents Professor of entomology, Chancellor Emeritus and Distinguished Professor Emeritus. Adkisson was also inducted into the Texas Heritage Hall of Honor at the State Fair of Texas in 1998.

Honors and recognitions

Adkisson received the three most prestigious international awards in agriculture, the Alexander Von Humboldt Award, the Wolf Prize in Agriculture, and the World Food Prize. He was listed among the 25 agricultural scientists having the greatest impact on U.S. agriculture in the 20th Century.

Other recognitions he earned over his lifetime included: Entomological Society of America’s J. Everett Bussart Award for Outstanding Research in Economic Entomology; Man of The Year for Texas Agriculture, Progressive Farmer; Distinguished Texas Scientist of the Year by the Texas Academy of Sciences; and Distinguished Service Awards from the American Institute of Biological Sciences and the American Agricultural Editors Association.

Adkisson was elected to The National Academy of Sciences, the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, and served as president of the Entomological Society of America.

He earned his bachelor’s degree in agriculture and master’s degree in agronomy from the University of Arkansas. He earned a doctorate in entomology from Kansas State University in 1956 and did his postdoctoral work at Harvard University.

Services

Services will be live streamed via Facebook by Memorial Funeral Chapel at 3 p.m. July 3.

African horse sickness on Texas A&M, industry radar

June 24, 2020 by Rob Williams

Potential insect vectors in Texas

by Kay Ledbetter, Texas A&M AgriLife Marketing and Communications

Horses would be at risk if African horse sickness makes it into the U.S. (Texas A&M AgriLife photo by Kay Ledbetter)

African horse sickness is not in the U.S., and it is important it stays that way.

Texas A&M AgriLife faculty, various state and federal agencies and the U.S. horse industry are already monitoring the situation, ensuring surveillance and determining practices to prevent the deadly horse disease from crossing our borders.

African horse sickness comes out of Africa and is common from Morocco down to the middle of the continent. But it has escaped the African continent several times, most recently into Thailand, where it is believed to have been introduced by importation of infected zebras. African horse sickness is caused by a virus, more specifically an Orbivirus, which is transmitted by certain insects.

“Equines including horses, mules, donkeys and zebras are moved all over the world for competitions, trade, breeding, zoologic and conservation purposes,” said Pete Teel, Ph.D., Texas A&M AgriLife Research entomologist with the Texas A&M Department of Entomology, College Station.

“There is a real risk that this foreign animal disease could be introduced to the Western Hemisphere, including North America, where we have insects that will likely serve as effective vectors of this virus,” Teel said.

“The U.S. is constantly threatened by introductions of foreign animal diseases,” he said. “Diligent surveillance, detection and planned responses at state and federal levels is essential, as is keeping an eye on what is happening globally. Having advanced knowledge and warnings is a huge advantage toward prevention before it gets into our country.”

Federal agencies, including the U.S. Department of Agriculture Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service, state agencies like the Texas Animal Health Commission, and concerned and vigilant equine industry stakeholders are all part of the first line of defense, Teel said.

“If African horse sickness does come to the U.S., do we have knowledge of insects that will likely transmit this virus? Yes,” Teel said. “Do we know everything we need to know about it? Probably not.”

He said depending on the serotype of the virus that were to be introduced, “it will be necessary to determine whether the insects we have are competent vectors in the laboratory and capable vectors in the field. And further, to improve practices to protect equines from vector transmission and infection.”

What is African horse sickness

The tiny biting midge, as seen here compared to a mosquito, right, is a vector for African horse sickness. (Courtesy photo)

African horse sickness is considered a Tier 3 disease by the National Bio and Agro-Defense Facility, NBAF, because of the potential negative impact on animal health.

African horse sickness symptoms are the same as those associated with respiratory and circulatory impairment. At the first signs of the disease, owners are advised to eliminate affected horses and vaccinate noninfected horses with polyvalent vaccine; then let them rest for two weeks.

The APHIS and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service have import requirements in place to reduce the likelihood of AHSV introduction. Per APHIS regulation, imported horses undergo inspection prior to export. Horses imported from AHS-affected countries are required to undergo a 60-day quarantine upon arrival in the U.S.

Horses are the most susceptible host with close to 90% mortality of those affected, followed by mules and donkeys. African donkeys and zebras very rarely display clinical symptoms, despite high virus titers in blood, and are thought to be the natural reservoir of the virus. Thus, it is thought the virus was transported to Thailand through asymptomatic zebras.

Texas A&M expertise on African horse sickness

“The primary vectors of African horse sickness are among species of biting midges, which are very small blood-feeding flying insects about 1/8th of an inch in length,” Teel said. “The immature stages of these insects complete their portion of the midge life cycle in association with wet habitats ranging from permanent and semi-permanent aquatic areas to very moist soils and decaying organic matter.”

He explained these are biological vectors meaning that the virus reproduces inside biting midges after blood meals are taken from infected animals; the resulting infected midges are then able to infect new animals.

“We have biting midges in the U.S.,” Teel said. “They are involved in the transmission of two similar viruses causing diseases known as blue tongue and epizootic hemorrhagic disease in livestock and wildlife.”

He said Texas has biting midges and both diseases. AgriLife Research entomologists have been involved in studying the taxonomy, ecology and management of biting midges associated with these and other pathogens, in part stimulated by the emergence of epizootic hemorrhagic disease in Texas deer farms.

“A recent study of biting midges in an urban area of Brazos County found eight species including the principle vector species associated with blue tongue and epizootic hemorrhagic disease,” Teel said. “This species has been studied under laboratory conditions and found to experimentally acquire and transmit the virus of African horse sickness.

“The discovery of African horse sickness in Thailand is another reminder that our global connectedness has risks and that state, national and global surveillance is the key to early warnings, to preparedness and to response.”

Teel reassured that were African horse sickness to threaten the U.S., AgriLife Research and AgriLife Extension has diverse expertise, facilities and services to assist in preparation and response, including basic and applied research.

“It is important for us moving forward to continue working with the equine industry and equine veterinarians here in the U.S. and with international organizations such as the World Organization for Animal Health, who recently did a series of webinars on this event and are the international standard setting body for how to safely move horses around the globe,” said Elizabeth Parker, DVM, AgriLife Research associate director for operations and strategic initiatives, College Station.

Prevention

Currently, vaccines for African horse sickness are effective but not optimal because they contain live pathogens that can sicken horses, especially if not administered correctly, or lead to the creation of new genetic variants of the disease.

In countries where African horse sickness is a problem, Teel said prevention is provided with vaccines to the serotype present in that region or the use of insecticides to keep the midges from biting.

With horses, it might mean keeping them stalled in areas where biting midges are a problem and using insecticides to keep the midges off them. But this might not be as possible with wild horses or horses in pastures that may not be able to be handled or stabled.

Moving forward

Teel said the investigation in Thailand should help scientists understand what happened and how the disease traveled – most likely infected animals moved to an area where there were native vectors.

“For the U.S., we need to be vigilant in understanding what this virus is, its cycle in nature as it is presently understood, and then to determine what vectors we have here and how they could potentially play a role in this,” he said. “With blue tongue and EHD, we might already have some insight on how efficient the midges might be as vectors.

“And then we have the other part of vector transmission and that is called vector capacity. Is the timing right for the vectors to work in the field, as opposed to the lab, looking at seasonal phenology? We have a lot to learn and we need to stay on top of it.”

Citizen Scientist Project needs input from Texas residents

May 28, 2020 by Rob Williams

by Adam Russell, Texas A&M AgriLife Marketing and Communications

Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service scientists hope you will join the ranks of Texas residents participating in a multi-state project to identify pollinator-friendly plants and ultimately help pollinator populations.

The Pollinator Citizen Science Project has been accepting new recruits for its second year as a volunteer-based information-gathering program.

The purpose of this project is to utilize volunteer “citizen-scientists” to determine the attractiveness of different commercially available annual and perennial ornamental plants to various pollinator groups in Texas and Oklahoma.

The project started as a collaboration between research and extension personnel at Texas A&M University, Tarleton State University, Texas Tech University and Oklahoma State University.

Erfan Vafaie, AgriLife Extension entomologist, Overton, said creators of the project hope to answer a long-popular question among ornamental and pollinator lovers: Which common flowers in Texas and Oklahoma do pollinators find most attractive?

“We are looking for master gardeners, master naturalists, landscapers, home garden enthusiasts and the like to participate in a citizen-science pollinator project,” Vafaie said. “Citizen scientists need to have access to outdoor flowering plants, whether it be in their own gardens or a nearby park or botanical garden, and make regular observations throughout the flowering season, at least once a week, to track pollinator visits.”

Join the Citizen Scientist Project

The project is mainly focused on southern states, but because data can be filtered by region, citizen-scientists report from anywhere in the U.S. It is also focused on introduced plant cultivars rather than native species.

Vafaie said the project asks volunteers to determine the plant species observed down to the binomial Latin name and to classify pollinators into one of many categories including honey bees, bumble bees, other bees, non-bee wasps, non-bee flies, butterflies and moths, and beetles.

Other information collected include the location, temperature and time of the observation, he said.

“These observations can be made in a backyard garden or at a botanical garden,” he said. “We want the observations to be from the same location throughout the season so we have a range of data relating to conditions and flowering, but we also want people to know they can do this at home.”

The Citizen Scientist project will provide online training modules focused on how to perform observations, identifying different pollinator groups, selecting a patch of flowering plants, and how to fill out the citizen-science survey.

“The training modules will take volunteers through the steps needed to report accurately,” he said. “It’s just as important to get reports that are consistent and accurate, whether they’re observing certain pollinators on specific plants or not seeing anything. We want the positive and negative because they both contribute to an accurate portrayal of what plants may attract pollinators and potentially why.”

The project receives no direct funding and operates through researchers’ existing programs and volunteers, Vafaie said.

Project results so far

As of April 1, there were 282 official citizen-scientist volunteers, including 172 master naturalists and 76 master gardeners, Vafaie said. But anyone who is interested in gardening, ornamental plants or pollinators and willing to commit time to the project is welcome to join.

In 2019, volunteers provided almost 8,000 contributions to the project.

Volunteer observations represented 215 plant species from 57 plant families. Some most commonly observed plant families included tickseed, purple coneflower, yarrow, black-eyed Susan, spearmint, oregano, salvia and lantana, mock verbena, frog fruit and verbena.

The 2020 observation surveys will be accepting observations through October. Vafaie said researchers hope to continue the project and collect data on pollinators into the future.

Vafaie said the Citizen Scientist project is a great opportunity for the public to participate in a scientific survey program dedicated to pollinators.

“Pollinators are getting more attention these days, and people are becoming more aware of their importance to humans and the world around us,” he said. “In the end, we hope this project helps pollinator populations.”

Anyone interested in participating in the Pollinator Project should go to the project page and complete the three-step process to become a volunteer. Volunteers will be asked to view an hour-long webinar on the project and pass a short quiz before signing up.