#harpactorinae

[have-you-seen-this-animal]

North American wheel bug?

Have you seen the North American wheel bug (Arilus cristatus)?

I have now

Yes, in photos/videos

Yes, irl

I'm not sure

Voting ended onApr 10

The first photo is of an adult, the second is of a freshly hatched nymph. Either way, what a charming face!!

[coffeenuts]

spined assassin egg cases by myriorama https://flic.kr/p/2iXGuFD

[rattyexplores]

More Assassin Bugs

There’s a few of them around.

Unidentified, Tribe Harpactorini

01/06/22

[ecuadorlife]

Bee Assassin, Notocyrtus sp., Reduviidae by Andreas Kay Via Flickr: from Ecuador: www.youtube.com/AndreasKay

[that-crazy-scorpio-man]

Got quite the jump-scare from this character.  Was watering the plants, it flew out and landed on me.

[dendroica]

Wheel Bug in Missouri (via USFWSmidwest)

Look but don’t touch! Wheel bugs (Arilus cristatus) are cool to see, but can inflict a painful bite if handled. Look for the prominent spiny ridge or "wheel" on the thorax to identify this species of assassin bug.

Photo by Anna Weyers/USFWS.

[calosoma-amitch]

Assassin bug (Rocconota annulicornis), Newark DE. August 2017.  The consequence of mothing events: the moths are likely to become someone’s lunch.  Assassin bugs are slow-moving predators that prefer to ambush other insects, notably soft-bodied prey like caterpillars, sawflies, and other larvae. As the picture above shows, however, it isn’t picky about consuming larger prey. Its mouthparts are modified like a heavy syringe, able to pierce exoskeleton and siphon fluids from its prey.The articulation in its head is somewhat flexible, allowing the head to swivel around and try to bite things from behind (in case you try to pick it up, for example…). At least one generation in the Mid-Atlantic, with adults by August.  

[ecuadorlife]

Bee Assassin Bug, Notocyrtus sp., Reduviidae by Andreas Kay Via Flickr: watch my VIDEO: youtu.be/z6Wr-tAC15U from Ecuador