Chagas disease is caused by the parasite Trypanosoma cruzi. T. cruzi is transmitted between animals and people in the feces of blood-drinking triatomines or ‘kissing bugs’. Some parasites are known to alter the microbiome of their hosts, but that has not been explored in detail for this host-parasite pair. To characterize these potential interactions, researchers examined Rhodnius prolixus after exposure to either _T. cruzi _or T. rangeli, a non-pathogenic relative. Exposure to either parasite led to an overall reduction in the number of microbes in the anterior and posterior midgut. Exposure also tended to lead to reductions in the relative abundance of Enterobacterales and Corynebacteriales. Exposure also tended to lead to reductions in the relative abundance of Enterobacterales and Corynebacteriales and to communities with Lactobacillales as the most abundant taxa. This particular pattern of microbial community changes was the most true of insects exposed to T. rangeli, but was also observed at early time points after _T. cruzi _exposure. The researchers were also able to reconstruct the genomes of four important members of the R. prolixus microbiome and assess their metabolic features. Although more research is needed, these results characterized the R. prolixus gut microbiome and its response to colonization by trypanosomal parasites, which could be used to help inform future control measures for Chagas disease.