Categories

wasp?
Dear Bugman,
My wife and I found this bug on our cat. It appeared to be either biting or stinging the cat. It was making the cat skittish, which is why we think it was biting or stinging the cat. It seems to be some kind of wasp, though none I have ever seen before. We live in Hawaii, so it isn’t uncommon for us to see bugs we haven’t seen before. I have included two pictures, which I scaled down to make them more email friendly. They are somewhat limited due to the macro capabilities of our digital camera (and the fact the bag it is in is wet because I almost flushed the bug) but I hope they are sufficient for ID. The cat seems to be recovering so we aren’t too worried, but I would like to know if it was stinging him. The unique feature on this bug seems to be the two yellowish dots on its back. It has 6 legs, two antennae that extend, then bend back toward the body. The legs farthest back are significantly longer than the other 4. It has two wings, since I haven’t seen it fly I don’t know if they are one pair (like a bee) or two (like a dragonfly), but the wings extend just beyond the abdomen. I can’t see a stinger, but I have only a small magnifying glass, if it has a stinger it isn’t readily visible to the naked or slightly assisted eye (unless it left it in the cat). Any ideas on what this bug is would be greatly appreciated. Thank you for your time and ability.
Sincerely,
Andrew & Mara Neboshynsky

Dear Andrew and Mara,
Definitely not a Wasp, but a True Bug: one of the Assassin Bugs, possibly a Corsair Bug from the genus Rasahus. These will bite if provoked and mishandled.

Related Posts

1. Pigeon Horntail (September 1, 2007)
2. Eyed Elater (May 18, 2008)
3. Corsair Assassin Bug: Dead after biting someone (July 26, 2009)
4. Corsair Assassin Bug: Unnecessary Carnage (September 13, 2009)
5. Immature Corsair Bug from Oklahoma (October 11, 2009)