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Updated: Aug 7, 2026
Harvesting Venom Toxins from Assassin Bugs and Other Heteropteran Insects
Published on: April 21, 2018
Non-invasive blood sampling from primates using laboratory-bred blood-sucking bugs (Dipetalogaster maximus;
Ruth Thomsen1, Christian C Voigt
1Institute of Zoo and Wildlife Research, Alfred-Kowalke-Str. 17, 10315, Berlin, Germany. thomsen@izw-berlin.de
Abstract:
Primates are easily stressed by the conventional veterinary blood sampling routine and consequently, measured blood parameters may be biased. In this study, we tested blood-sucking bugs (Dipetalogaster maximus) on one lemur and two ape species (Microcebus murinus, Pongo abelii, Pan paniscus) as an alternative, non-invasive technique for bleeding primates. Within time periods of between 6 and 62 min we obtained blood volumes of 0.01-2.4 ml in 11 out of 12 trials from all three species. Therefore, we conclude that these bugs represent a new, gentle and effective tool for bleeding captive primates without stress.
