Bug help….
Hello,
A few months ago by using your website I was able to identify a mysterious bug I had never seen before sitting on my basil planter outside as a nymph wheel bug. Well, here we are a month or so later without having seen the wheel bug and we walk outside and find the now “adult” wheel bug sitting out on our deck right before we watched it get attacked and killed by a (European hornet?). Please identify the bug attacking the wheel bug in the attached picture. Thanks for your help!!!
B&D
Sellersville, PA
Dear B & D,
Your identification of a European Hornet, Vespa crabro, attacking a Wheel Bug is correct. According to BugGuide, the European Hornet is : “Predatory on other insects, used to feed young. … The workers capture insects, bringing them back to the nest to feed the brood. Workers need more high-energy sugary foods such as sap and nectar, and hornet larvae are able to exude a sugary liquid which the workers can feed on.”
Ectrichodia crux
Hi Bugman
I have noticed these assasin bugs feasting on a milipede on my farm in Pretoria ,South Africa . We live on a rocky outcrop of the Magalies mountain range at 1400m (4500ft)above mean sea level. The fotos were taken on the 5th January 2008 (mid summer) around 10AM with a Canon EOS 400D camera. I thought you may be interested in these fotos.
Kind Regards
Arend van de Wetering
Hi Arend,
Thanks for providing us with additional photo documentation of the Millipede Assassin Bugs, Ectrichodia crux, communally feeding on a large Millipede.
Did You See?
Greetings:
Won’t bug you again with this, (pun intended) but a while back I sent in a pic of a Wheel Bug that landed on the mirror of my 18 wheeler and was giving me the stink-eye as I took his (her?) picture. Anyway, I have been looking on your website and I just don’t think there is a better image of one up close and personal. Maybe I am biased, but I think it’s a cool image, the way he’s looking at the camera. Well, I just thought you may have missed it in the pile of images you receive every day. So, here it is one more time and if it doesn’t get posted I will figure my idea of a decent shot might not be as good as I thought it was. Either way, happy trails
Dave
Hi Dave,
We generally post lateral views of Wheel Bugs so that the distinctive wheel or cog on the thorax is plainly visible. A dorsal view does not accentuate this distinguishing feature. In making that decision in the past, we realize that dorsal views of Wheel Bugs are noticeably absent on our site, and your photo fills a void. As far as choosing who has the best Wheel Bug photo, we don’t really want to go there because we have no desire to pit our readership against one another.
¶ Posted 17 August 2008 § ‡ ° Armored Bug–Doing Battle and Taking Prisoners in Canonsburg, PA
Hi Bugman. I think this is the dreaded "wheel bug". I’ve never seen one before, but I was able to identify it (at least tentatively) through your website. Thanks for a great resource–wish you’d do a print version I could keep in my pocket so that when I encounter these beasts, I’d be better prepared. 
Misty Doy
Hi Misty,
it is ironic that a few minutes ago we responded to a reader who was nervous that an Assassin Bug was going to eat the Anise Swallowtail Caterpillars she was raising, that we couldn’t recall seeing images of Assassin Bugs feeding on caterpillars. Your documentation of a Wheel Bug feeding on a Wooly Bear is wonderful. We have toyed with the idea of a book, but first we must find an interested publisher. Also, we doubt that our book would make a very good field guide. We strongly recommend Eric Eaton’s Kaufman Guide.
¶ Posted 11 August 2008 § ‡ ° What is it?
Bugman,
I live in near Tucson, Arizona and found this pretty bug in my yard. I would like to know what it is, I have never seen one like it before. Thank you,
Joann
Hi Joann,
This is a Yellow-Bellied Bee Assassin, Apiomerus flaviventris, a species that is associated with Arizona. Handle with care as Assassin Bugs can bite.
¶ Posted 10 August 2008 § ‡ ° Some type of Leaf or Wood Bug- nice chompers
This fellow was resting on an old windowsill in June. (Location South Carolina) I’m not sure what he is, but I thought his expression was pretty neat and wanted to share him/her.
~Enjoy !~
Melissa ‘Liss ‘ Burnell
Hi Liss,
Your critter is a Bee Assassin, Apiomerus crassipes, one of the Assassin Bugs.
¶ Posted 04 August 2008 § ‡ ° Assassin bug
Hello,
Attached are a couple images of an assassin bug I found crawling around a patch of Mexican Salvia in Mountain View, California. In looking at the the collection on WTB, I was unable to find an exact match. Do you have an idea of the particular kind of assassin bug this one might be? Thanks,
Dan
Hi Dan,
Your Spiny Assassin Bug is in the genus Sinea. The closest match we could find on BugGuide, which is also from California, is not identified to the species level.
¶ Posted 24 July 2008 § ‡ ° Great photo of a colorful unknown bug
I sincerely thank you for the most fantastic insect site on earth. You have helped me identify many bugs through all the great pics. I can not find this bug that was found on an enclosed porch in Dayton, Ohio. USA. Thanks in advance for your assist in the I.D. of this colorful bug.
Terry
Hi Again Terry,
Yesterday we wrote you a quick reply identifying your insect as a newly metamorphosed Wheel Bug, one of the Assassin Bugs. We have been thinking about your wonderful image, and wanted to post it. Sometimes time will not permit us to post everything we want to post, but we needed to revisit your submission. Many years ago, we received a similar, though very blurry photo. Your photo is so crisp and sharp and shows the orange coloration of the newly metamorphosed Wheel Bug as well as the black discarded exoskeleton. The orange color will soon darken. This Wheel Bug is still not mature. When it becomes an adult, it will have fully functional wings as well as the signature coglike wheel on its thorax.
¶ Posted 07 July 2008 § ‡ ° 
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