spikey six-legged visitor
Location: Philadelphia, PA
August 5, 2010 12:29 pm
I’m hoping you can help me! I own a flower shop in Philadelphia and came across this guy hiking his way across my counter. Unfortunately, I can’t tell you if the bug somehow stowed away on some of my imported flowers, or came from some of the local blooms in our shop. All of which make pinpointing its origin kind of difficult. I’ve seen a lot of bugs in my day, but I’ve really never seen anything like this. Thanks in advance for your help!
P. Chang
Spiny Assassin Bug
Hi P. Chang,
You have had a visit from a Spiny Assassin Bug in the genus Sinea. It is a native genus with 11 species in North America according to BugGuide. Assassin Bugs are predators and most species should be encouraged by home gardeners and professional gardeners, but they should be handled with caution as they might bite.
¶ Posted 07 August 2010 § ‡ ° Frilled head probiscus and fangs?
Location: West Texas
August 6, 2010 9:09 am
I photographed this bug on the giant Texas reeds in my backyard. I live in West Texas – temps have been in the low 100s for about a week. I pay a lot of attention to the insects and spiders in my yard, but have never seen anything like this.
When I first saw it, I would have sworn it was a spider based on its size and the way it moved, but on closer inspection, only 6 legs were visible. The head is noticeably frilled along a crest that ran from front to back on the head. There’s also an apparent proboscis with what appears to be reddish fangs tucked under the snout. The antennae are also reddish while the overall color of the bug is in shades of grey and black.
DeeJay
Wheel Bug
Hi Will,
We have numerous images of Wheel Bugs in our archives, but we haven’t posted a photograph of an adult Wheel Bug in some time, so your nice photograph will remedy that.
Thanks so much for responding so quickly! I hope it’s still out there so I can call it by name. 
¶ Posted 06 August 2010 § ‡ ° Varigated Vampire-Lobster-Ant?
Location: Thomson, GA, USA
August 2, 2010 10:22 am
I like that name until you provide a more accurate one. This image was captured July 31, 2010 in my wife’s garden in Thomson, GA. The plant is a Black & Blue Salvia (Salvia guaranitica) and the insect is perhaps a centimeter long, minus antennae.
Cliff in Thomson
Sycamore Assassin Bug Nymph
Hi Cliff,
One of the ways we select letters to post is if they have an interesting subject line. You had us going from the second word. When we get a colorful description with a pop culture tone to it, we immediately try to guess what insect the person is trying to describe. We have a decent track record in that arena, but your description had us totally stumped, but we were nonetheless intrigued. Your insect is an immature Assassin Bug in the family Reduviidae, but at that point, our memory not being quite as keen as that of most people we know, we needed to turn to internet research. We know where to research NOrth American insects and spiders. That is BugGuide. Your Assassin Bug is in the genus Pselliopus, the Sycamore Assassin Bugs, which we quickly located on bugGuide, but we are not comfortable identifying a nymph to the species level since they all look alike in this genus.
Thanks, folks.
I’m glad I was able to pique your interest.
¶ Posted 02 August 2010 § ‡ ° Assassinated and Form Problem
July 26, 2010 8:01 PM
Hi Daniel,
Just tried submitting this picture via the form but as per last time got the error message “Failed to send your message. Please try later.”
Anyway, thought you might like this for your foodchain pages. This is an Orange Ground Assassin Bug, Ectomocoris patricius, that has come off second best to an ant colony.
regards,
Trevor
Orange Ground Assassin Bug eaten by Ants
Hi Trevor,
Thanks for taking the trouble to send this image to us via different channels. Please let us know if the form continues to give you problems when submitting photos because we do not want any interruption in our reception of the fabulous images you provide us from Australia.
1
Green thing eating a fly?
Location: Guelph, Ontario, Canada
July 25, 2010 4:21 pm
Saw this bug on a walk today. Looks like it’s eating a fly. It’s summer and I live in Ontario Canada.
Brittany
Ambush Bug eats Flesh Fly
Hi Brittany,
My, this is a beautiful photograph of an Ambush Bug eating a Flesh Fly. Ambush Bugs in the subfamily Phumatinae (See BugGuide) have recently been downgraded from having their own family status to being considered a subfamily of the Assassin Bugs. Ambush Bugs wait on flowers to ambush their prey, often insects that pollinate the flowers. The fly in your photograph looks like a Flesh Fly in the family Sarcophagidae. Our own Mt. Washington, Los Angeles offices have recently been host to Flesh Flies which seem to enter when the doors are open. We find several indoors every week. Flesh Flies maggots feed on rotted meat, be it animal carcasses or putrefied meat from the market. Adults feed on sweet fluids including nectar (hence the ambush on the blossom), sap and fruit juice. See BugGuide for more information.
Black & Red Beetle-ish Thing
July 14, 2010
Photographed this guy in my friend Ellen’s garden, off Rt. 53 just south of Charlottesville, VA, last month (June). Wondering if you can tell me what it is… Thanks!
Kathy
Charlottesville, VA
Bee Assassin
Hi Kathy,
True Bugs like your Bee Assassin, Apiomerus crassipes, can be distinguished from beetles by their piercing and sucking mouthparts as opposed to the chewing mouthparts of beetles. Bee Assassins get their common name from their habit of waiting on flowers for bees and other pollinating insects to arrive, only to quickly become a meal.
Wow, Daniel! Thanks for the quick reply! I appreciate it…
–Kathy
¶ Posted 14 July 2010 § ‡ ° Orange Spiky Bug
July 7, 2010
Hi, here’s an interesting one! This spiny, orange bug was attached to our dogs coat when she came in from the yard-lot’s of woods here in middle GA (Mid July-summer). It looked half dead when we plucked it off her fur and put it on the table for closer inspection. The small strands of dog hair seemed to be tripping him up quite a bit, he was moving sooo slowly. When he finally managed to untangle himself he bolted, ran clear to the edge of the table and jumped! It was incredible! We would like to know what this magnificent little specimen is called so we can learn more about him. Thanks so much!
Courtney
Middle Georgia
Sycamore Assassin Bug nymph
Hi Courtney,
This is an immature Assassin Bug in the genus Pselliopus, called a Sycamore Assassin Bug, and you may compare your image to photographs posted to BugGuide. Assassin Bugs are predators with piercing/sucking mouthparts that should be handled with caution as they might bite.
¶ Posted 08 July 2010 § ‡ ° Is this bug dangerous?
July 6, 2010
We found this bug on a sunflower this summer. We have other bugs shaped like it but they are black with a small amount of reddish orange on the tips of their wings or backs (they seem to be flightless). Since this one was colored in this very unusual way we were concerned it could possibly be dangerous, as many insects with these types of color schemes are.
Thanks for your help! Heather in Mesa
Mesa, Arizona (the Sonoran Desert)
Yellow Bellied Bee Assassin
Hi Heather,
The coloration of this Yellow Bellied Bee Assassin, Apiomerus flaviventris, could well be warning coloration as it will bite, and the bite can be painful. Usually, such warning coloration is used to ward off predators, and it is a topic to ponder when that warning coloration is sported by a predatory species, like the Yellow Bellied Bee Assassin, since it might also warn prospective prey. According the the genus information page on BugGuide: “It pounces on Honey Bees and other pollinating insects. It holds the captive in its powerful legs, thrusts its cutting beak into the victim’s back, injects an immobilizing digestive agent, then sucks out the body juices.“
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¶ Posted 07 July 2010 § ‡ ° 
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