Assassin Bug (Triatoma infestans)

The Assassin Bug (Triatoma infestans) has earned its ominous common name several times over. Found across South America, this flattened, orange-and-black banded insect is one of the most medically significant creatures on the continent - a nocturnal blood-feeder and the principal vector of Chagas disease.

Triatoma infestans is the principal vector of Chagas disease, caused by the parasite Trypanosoma cruzi. Commonly known as the kissing bug - a name derived from its habit of biting sleeping humans around the mouth and face - it feeds on blood at night and transmits the parasite not through the bite itself but through its faeces, which are deposited near the wound and rubbed in when the sleeper scratches. It is found primarily in and around human dwellings, hiding in cracks in walls, behind furniture, and in thatched roofing during the day and emerging after dark to feed.

Chagas disease affects an estimated six to seven million people, primarily in rural communities across Latin America, and Triatoma infestans has been the target of major international control campaigns involving insecticide spraying and housing improvement programmes. These efforts have achieved significant success - the insect has been eliminated from large areas of Brazil, Chile, and Uruguay - but it persists in parts of Bolivia, Paraguay, and Argentina. Few insects illustrate so clearly the relationship between poverty, housing quality, and disease - or the difference that sustained public health intervention can make.

Bugs is a collection of natural history illustration prints drawn from the insect world - beetles, flies, bugs, butterflies, and moths selected for the strangeness, beauty, and variety of their forms.

Each illustration is adapted from Simon Tyler's book Bugs, published by Pavilion in 2017 and subsequently published in French and Chinese. The series draws on the tradition of scientific natural history illustration - precise, considered, and attentive to the details that make each species distinctive.

Insects account for the majority of all known animal species on Earth. This collection is a small survey of what that diversity looks like.

All prints are produced to order on 250gsm archival matte paper using pigment-based inks, chosen for colour accuracy and long-term stability.

Each print is rolled in acid-free tissue and shipped in a rigid cardboard tube, sealed for moisture protection, ready for framing on arrival.

Large · 50 × 70 cm · 20 × 28 in

XLarge · 70 × 100 cm · 28 × 40 in

UK: Free · 3-5 working days

Europe: €8.50 · 3-7 working days · No customs charges

USA & Canada: $8.95 / $12.00 CAD · 5-10 working days

Australia: $14.00 AUD · 5-10 working days

Rest of World: £14.95 · 7-14 working days

All prints are produced to order and dispatched within 1-3 working days. Orders placed before 5pm GMT ship the same day. You'll receive tracking information by email once dispatched.

Orders outside Europe may be subject to local customs charges on delivery - these are the responsibility of the recipient.

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Returns accepted within 30 days. Email returns@axisophy.com with your order number and we'll provide return instructions.

Return postage is the customer's responsibility except where the print arrives damaged or there's been an error - in which case we'll arrange a replacement or refund immediately, no return needed.

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