Mating insects
Location: Fannin County Texas
October 4, 2010 10:20 pm
Found these mating bugs on my gazebo.
They were fascinating, having a dorsal spiny shield reminding me of the stegosaurus dinosaurs. I haven’t seen them before. Size of the female is 4cm by estimate. What are they?
Signature: Pacman in Texas
Mating Wheel Bugs
Dear Pacman,
You are not the first person who has written to us comparing the crest on the Wheel Bug, Arilus cristatus, to the protective plates on a stegosaurus. Your documentation of the mating process of North America’s largest Assassin Bug will be archived in our Bug Love section. Wheel Bugs, like other Assassin Bugs, are predators and they should be welcomed into any organic garden, but gardener beware, because if they are carelessly handled, they are capable of biting with their piercing mouthparts. After mating, the female will produce a cluster of barrel shaped eggs that will hatch into red and black numphs in the spring. We have numerous images of freshly hatched Wheel Bugs on our site, but only a few of the mating process.
Mating Wheel Bugs
¶ Posted 05 October 2010 § ‡ ° Tagged: bug love a troll in my house
Location: Ottawa, Ontario, Canada
September 10, 2010 7:07 am
One day I saw a bug on my basement stairs – something I had never seen before. He slowly crawled behind the carpeting on the stairs, and I let him be … but I was SO curious to know what he was. Then the other evening I found one outside when I was moving some interlock brick that had been piled up in my garage for awhile. So, I snapped a few (not great) photos in the dark before letting him go.
I found your site today and I LOVE it. Can you help me identify my new friend? He moves with a slow, deliberate crawl. His body is quite flattened (dorso-ventrally)and his front legs are often positioned like a crab spider’s (though he only has 6 legs). His back legs almost seem like legs for jumping, but he doesn’t jump – just the slow crawl. And the oddest thing is the way his body looks a little woolly, like he’s been rolled in drywall dust. But both indoor and outdoor specimens were like that, so it’s the bug’s own ”coat”. Is it possible that he’s an instar of some other kind of bug? thanks for any info you can provide.
Barb
Masked Hunter
Hi Barb,
Before we answer your question, we have to compliment you on getting our attention with your subject line, and then your letter proved to be equally charming. Your troll is a Masked Hunter, and it really has been rolling around in drywall dust in a manner of sorts. It is also an earlier instar and doesn’t much resemble the adult Masked Hunter. The Masked Hunter, Reduvius personatus, is a species of Assassin Bug and the glossy black winged adult doesn’t look much like this immature nymph with its sticky body surface that accumulates dust, lint and sand or whatever other debris it encounters in its environment. This “coat” of debris acts to camouflage the Masked Hunter, making it an effective predator. It is also known as a Bed Bug Hunter, a name that should bring comfort to those who are unfortunate enough to have encountered those blood suckers that are increasing in numbers to epidemic proportions in many urban areas. We also offer some words of caution regarding the Masked Hunter, because this beneficial nocturnal predator is also capable of delivering a painful bite if it is carelessly handled. You can read BugGuide for additional information on the Masked Hunter. Thank you again for starting our morning off with such a fun posting. Your attitude toward the unknown creatures that share your home is refreshing.
This is so exciting!!! Thank you very much for such a fast (and super-informative) response. Biology is so cool … you can live for many years, and still find something super-new and weird that you’ve never seen before.
And yes, I’m willing to share my house with lots of things, though I do draw the line. But for the most part all the house centipedes take care of things for me (I was so happy to see that you advocate letting them roam – once I found out that they’re top predators, I decided to learn to cope with the heebie-jeebies they give me, and everyone thinks I’m nuts).
With all the junk that’s on the web, it is such a treat to find a gem like your web site. I’ll be visiting a lot.
See you again, then! And thanks!
Barb
¶ Posted 10 September 2010 § ‡ ° What kind of bug is this
Location: western North Carolina–Jackson County–Appalachian Mountains
August 27, 2010 10:16 pm
Hi! I’m trying to identify this bug. Can you help? Someone suggested that it was a crab spider, but I do not think it is a spider at all b/c it doesn’t have eight legs. I saw it about a week ago–mid August–at a friend’s farm. I only saw one and it was tucked down inside the petals of this pink flower. It is quite small and appeared to have wings.
Thank you for help!
Rosemary Peek
Jagged Ambush Bug
Hi Rosemary,
The coloration on this Ambush Bug in the subfamily Phymatinae is much lighter than we generally see, however, there is a photo of a Jagged Ambush Bug in the genus Phymata that is posted to BugGuide that is a near identical match to your specimen. Typically, the coloration of the Ambush Bugs is very close to that of the flowers upon which they wait so that they can ambush pollinating insects, which causes us to ponder if perhaps this may be a newly molted individual whose color will darken.
this stung my wife
Location: SE PA woods
August 27, 2010 5:08 pm
AND NOW LIVES UNDER A CUP IN THE BACKYARD
THANKS, JMR
Mating Wheel Bugs
Hi JMR,
This is a they and they are mating Wheel Bugs. Wheel Bugs do not sting, but rather, they bite, and the bite is reported to be quite painful, but not dangerous. You should release them from their cup as they are important predators that will help keep the population of plant eating insects in check.
¶ Posted 27 August 2010 § ‡ ° Tagged: bug love If you’re there, What’s This Bug?! It just bit my son…
Location: Seminole, Oklahoma
August 27, 2010 7:42 pm
He crawled into a hole my boxer had dug to get a toy that dropped into it. Apparently this beetle got into his shorts, and then bit him. It has a probe/proboscis mouth, not pincers. Just want to know if it’s anything I need to worry about. I’m searching Bugguide now. Thanks so much…
Amy Goodman
Black Assassin Bug
Hi Amy,
it is very difficult to see through the bag. Might be a Black Corsair.
http://bugguide.net/node/view/7332
or maybe a Masked Hunter.
http://bugguide.net/node/view/11385
That is what I identified it as myself, though I’m the beginner of beginners in identifying bugs. I found a photo, based on the shape of a wheel bug (minus the wheel) and knowing that the wheel bug was an assasin beetle. I googled “black assasin beetle” and came up with a photo of a female black corsair with the same exact “vestigal wing pads” and body, down to the horizontal segmented look to the concave back. Also, remembering what you said about the wheel bug using it’s mouth to pierce reminded me of this bug. So I thank you very much. I know she’s not dangerous, but all sites say the bite is “quite painful” or “nasty” and my five year old agrees! He’s much better now, and I won’t let him crush the bug… I promise!
¶ Posted 27 August 2010 § ‡ ° Striped Leaf
Location: New Jersey, USA
August 12, 2010 12:47 am
I found this bug stuck in a spiders web in the corner of my garage. The only bug I see it resembles is that of the stink bug or leaf footed bugs, but I hadn’t seen any with these striped marking.
Ryan H.
Sycamore Assassin Bug
Hi Ryan,
Your insect is a predatory Assassin Bug in the genus Pselliopus, a group collectively known as the Sycamore Assassin Bugs.
¶ Posted 12 August 2010 § ‡ ° identify yellow & red sunflower insect
Location: Trinidad, Colorado
August 9, 2010 5:05 pm
First time I’ve seen these on my sunflowers, they blend in very well, tend to stay on the seedheads or right next to the petals.
Found August 1, 2010 in Trinidad, Colorado (on the New Mexico border in central colorado)
elevation 6500ft
Karen Howl
Ambush Bug
Hi Karen,
Ambush Bugs like the one in your photo wait camouflaged on blossoms to prey upon pollinating insects.
mystery bug in thailand
Location: n.e. thailand
August 6, 2010 10:52 pm
hi, i found this odd creature resting on leaf in n.e thailand near mekong river. it seems to be some sort of bug. it seems to have very long antenna folded back. Im totally confused due to its strangeness. to make matters worse or better if one likes confusion I then found another creature similar in form but close up of eyes make me think weird spider. I will forward that one when processed. p.s really appreciate your educational site and thanks for IDing my leaf cricket as katydid nymph.
heiden999
Assassin Bug
Hi heiden999,
This is an Assassin Bug in the family Reduviidae. It really is an unusual looking specimen. We will try to determine the species.
Assassin Bug
¶ Posted 07 August 2010 § ‡ ° 
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