Defies Identification
Location: Chico, CA
July 23, 2011 8:24 pm
Hello. I found this little guy in the yard on 22 July and was hoping you could identify it. At first I thought it was some kind of mantis, but I really haven’t a clue. I am no entomologist. A few details: it stood its ground when I moved in close with the camera, it tended to climb up the sides of the glass jar used to contain it, and it did not bite or sting me when I first caught it. Cheers.
Signature: Nate
Assassin Bug Nymph
Hi Nate,
This is an Assassin Bug Nymph, and we think you may have been lucky not to have been bitten. Assassin Bugs are predators, and there is one group, the Blood Sucking Conenose Bugs, that feed on mammalian blood, including humans. Most Assassin Bugs will not bite a human unless they are provoked, and handling one carelessly might result in a painful bite. We aren’t certain what genus your Assassin Bug nymph belongs to.
Immature Assassin Bug
¶ Posted 24 July 2011 § ‡ ° Another mystery
Location: Hawthorne, CA
July 19, 2011 2:23 pm
Hi, I also had this guy land on my arm a dew days ago. Can you tell me what it is?
Signature: Thanks, Anna Carreon
Assassin Bug
Hi Anna,
We believe this is an Assassin Bug in the family Reduviidae, though we do not recognize the species.
¶ Posted 20 July 2011 § ‡ ° What’s this bug?
Location: Northwestern Ohio
July 11, 2011 12:06 am
Dear Bugman,
I found this bug in the late afternoon as it walked on the leaves of a large flowering bush. It’s about 5/8” long from the front of it’s head to the end of its abdomen and has a light blue/gray short-cropped fuzz covering most of it’s body.
If you have any questions you are welcome to ask me!
I took the included images myself an you have my permission to use and/or edit them and this note as you see fit.
I thank you in advance for satisfying my curiosity about this friendly little guy.
Signature: Curtis in Ohio
I write you earlier… I just figured it out!
Location: Northwestern Ohio
July 11, 2011 1:00 am
Dear Bugman,
Upon further exploration of your amazing website, I Believe that I have correctly identified the bug in question as a wheel bug nymph. They don’t look much like their grown-up selves, do they? I’ve been able to identify mature wheel bugs since I was a kid. Thanks for teaching me something today! Keep up the good work!
Although you now needn’t publish my inquiry on your forum, you’re still welcome to use the images I’ve included if you like.
Signature: Curtis in Ohio
Wheel Bug Nymph
Hi Curtis,
This is an immature Wheel Bug, one of the predatory Assassin Bugs. You might want to exercise caution with your finger. You do not want the Wheel Bug to mistake your finger for a fat caterpillar. Wheel Bugs have a beak-like mouth that is used for piercing prey and sucking out fluids. Wheel Bugs are not aggressive, but they can and will bite if accidentally encountered, or carelessly handled.
1
¶ Posted 11 July 2011 § ‡ ° cool looking bug I found on my satellite dish
Location: Charlottesville, VA
July 10, 2011 8:17 pm
Hi! I was up on my roof yesterday and saw this really interesting bug with a shiny patch of dark grey material on its back, and a spiked spine. Also had an interseting hooked beak with a small worm in it. Can you identify it? Thanks!
Signature: James in VA
Wheel Bug
Hi James,
This is a Wheel Bug, one of the predatory Assassin Bugs in the family Reduviidae, and its largest North American member. They use the beaklike mouth to pierce the prey and suck fluids. They are also capable of biting humans, though not aggressively. Bites occur when they are accidentally encountered or carelessly handled.
Can you please identify this?
Location: Toronto Ontario Canada
July 7, 2011 8:27 pm
Hi Bugman. I have seen three of these in the past three years in Toronto Ontario Canada in the summer months. Do you know what it is? It looks like a spider but has 6 legs… it also looks like a piece of fluff but has antenna and a jerky walking style. I found one in my house in the basement, one outside on the back deck, and one in someone else’s house across town. It is about 1/4” long. I am really curious!
Signature: Ian
Masked Hunter and Shadow
Hi Ian,
We have always believed that if there is going to be text in a photo, it should count. Your use of the word “Umbra” is poetic. This is a Masked Hunter, a species of Assassin Bug with a sticky body. Dust and debris clings to the immature Masked Hunter and very effectively camouflages it in its environment. Masked Hunters are frequently associated with human dwellings and they are rumored to relish Bed Bugs, hence a common name Masked Bed Bug Hunter. If we ever did another calendar, your photo would be a strong contender both because it is an awesome photo, but also because we receive so many identification requests for Masked Hunters.
insect identification
Location: Western Pennslvania
July 7, 2011 7:32 pm
Please identify. This insect bit be in my backyard while I was on my recliner chair. It has 6 legs, orange-brown curled tail, two orange and black antennae, two fangs. A painful puncture bite.
Signature: Tracey
Wheel Bug Nymph
Hi Tracey,
At first we just fired a quick identification response back to you, but we love your photograph and we are enchanted with your email as well. We can’t believe that after experiencing a Wheel Bug Bite, that you would have the wherewithall to grab a camera and take such a charming photograph. The canning lid is a nice location. We imagine you picking green beans or green tomatoes prior to canning them when the incident occurred. We frequently get requests to identify a Wheel Bug, and your individual is an immature nymph, but very rarely do we get a bite report. It is alleged to be quite painful, but it seems like Wheel Bugs are reluctant to bite people. Adult Wheel Bugs have a crest that looks like a mechanical cog, hence the common name Wheel Bug.
Dear Daniel,
Thank you soooo much for identifying this insect for me. You are definitely right on the money and I am so grateful. I like your deduction that I was doing something as industrious as canning vegetables but the actual truth is that I was laying out in the sun on my stomach when I felt something crawl across my back. When I moved by hand to flick whatever it was off, I felt a painful bite on my left flank. I turned over and saw this creature on my recliner. I had never seen anything like it. I ran in the house and told my husband and wanted to show him what just bit me. He had never seen this insect either and had recently experienced a similar painful bite while working in the yard in the same general area a few days earlier. I decided to catch the bug and find out what it was. So, the canning jar lid goes to the small glass jar that I am keeping my prisoner of war in. Now that I know who my enemy is, I suppose I should free him…far away from the house.
Thanks again for your prompt response and correct id.
Tracey
Thanks for the update Tracey,
Biting or stinging creatures, or unknown critters, should never be brushed off or swatted. To avoid bites and stings, they should be blown off, which we acknowledge might be a bit difficult when the unknown crawler is on the back.
1
¶ Posted 07 July 2011 § ‡ ° Kill number 4
Location: South East Michigan
July 2, 2011 3:30 am
I’ve been finding these in my base ment and they seem to have come with the warm weather..what’s this bug?!
Signature: Carl
Adult Masked Hunter
Hi Carl,
A major part of our mission is to educate the public regarding the lower beasts in order to promote knowledge and tolerance. This is an adult Masked Hunter, a species of Assassin Bug. They are important predators that are frequently found near dwellings. They are also called Bed Bug Hunters, no doubt because they feed upon those thirsty bloodsuckers that prevent so many folks from getting a good night’s sleep. Immature Masked Hunters have a sticky body surface that attracts all manner of dust and debris which effectively camouflages them or masks them in their surroundings. Interestingly, adults are not sticky, perhaps because debris would prevent them from flying effectively. If you have a thriving population of Masked Hunters in your basement, they must have a plentiful food source, and eliminating the predators may cause the prey to overrun your home. Caution should be exercised in handling Masked Hunters as well as other Assassin Bugs as they are capable of producing a painful bite.
Got woken up with a bite from this guy!! Location: Brampton, Ontario Canada July 1, 2011 11:02 am Hello bugman!! I was trying to get some sleep today and as i rolled over i lept out of bed from something stinging or biting me on the back of my thigh! I felt a pain and as i reached (very quickly) to grab the back of my leg where the pain was i felt there was something there! It was this little guy, he must have been rapped up in my blanket, i just did laundry fresh sheets, douvet cover everything fresh, no mess anywhere but i do live in a basement appartment. The blanket i was using was just off to the side, and i was ontop of my douvet wrapped up in the blanket. So grabbed my leg felt him there, freaked out he crawled outta the blanket, i pushed him on the carpet and dropped a cup on him. scooped him up and took pics, looks like he has a stinger on his bum, i possibley squished him with the ball-point of a pen when looking at him, deffenetly a stinger or something real hard on the bum of him. Anyways theres a gouge out of my leg where he got me, and i think i may h ave scratched the heck out of myself while freaking out! but just wanna know what kind of bug he is and why he was in my bed! Signature: Yours truely…. Exausted but too creeped out to sleep
Masked Hunter Unmasked
Dear Exhausted …,
This is an immature Assassin Bug, and though some species of Assassin Bugs are blood suckers, there are not many and this is not one of them. Many Assassin Bugs will bite a human if provoked or carelessly handled, and it would seem that coming into contact with you between the sheets could constitute careless handling. We believe this is an immature Masked Hunter, Reduvius personatus, and the species gets its common name because the sticky surface of the insect attracts all manner of dust which effectively camouflages it in its surroundings, masking it from detection. Your individual might be newly molted as it does not appear to have any dust or debris attached to it. It does match this individual on BugGuide. Masked Hunters are known to hunt Bed Bugs, so they should be considered as beneficial insects.
Masked Hunter Unmasked
¶ Posted 01 July 2011 § ‡ ° 
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