Mystery Bug!
May 28, 2010
Spotted on May 28, 2010! This little mystery bug was spotted on my cat’s water bowl outside! I love bugs, but i’ve never seen this insect before. His abdomen is upturned in a strange fashion and is bright red. Tried to google its description for identification but failed. Thanks for your help!!!
Becca Hatfield
Beaufort, Missouri
Wheel Bug Nymph
Hi Becca,
This is an immature Wheel Bug, Arilus cristatus, the largest species of Assassin Bug in North America. The hatchlings are found in close proximity to the cluster of barrel shaped eggs that are laid in regular rows in a hexagon shaped cluster, but after they molt, they become solitary hunters. Adult Wheel Bugs have a crest on the back that looks like a wheel cog, hence the common name. Readers often claim that the Wheel Bug looks prehistoric, and it has been compared to a stegosaurus.
would like to know what bug this is
May 26, 2010
I live in Adrian Michigan and found this bug on a flower in my garden on May 25, 2010 at around 4-pm. Temperature was 80F and sunny
Steven R. Ross
Adrian Michigan USA
Assassin Bug
Hi Steven,
This is a predatory insect known as an Assassin Bug. The species, Zelus luridus, which ranges in the Eastern portion of North America, does not have a common name other than the general family name of Assassin Bug. You can compare your photos to images posted to BugGuide.
¶ Posted 27 May 2010 § ‡ ° Please identify this insect
May 22, 2010
Insect was photographed along a stream in the eastern Ozarks of Missouri crawling on a mushroom or other fungus.
Emery Styron
eastern Missouri
Wheel Bug
Hi Emery,
This is a Wheel Bug, the largest Assassin Bug in North America.
¶ Posted 22 May 2010 § ‡ ° Could you please identify this insect for me?
May 21, 2010
Hi, I took this photo in the Big Cypress area of the Florida Everglades. It was feeding on a ladybug. I was hoping that maybe you could identify this insect as I am not having any luck! Any help would be greatly appreciated.
Alan Hochman
Big Cypress area of the Florida Everglades
Milkweed Assassin Bug eats Ladybug
Dear Alan,
This predator is an Assassin Bug, probably in the genus Zelus, but we don’t know the species. BugGuide indicates between 7 and 12 species in the genus Zelus in North America. Your individual resembles the Milkweed Assassin Bug, Zelus logipes, but the photos of that species on BugGuide do not have the striped legs and antennae that are so distinctive in your photo.
Karl finds a match
Hi Daniel. I did a quick search and couldn’t find any other species that matches this pattern. The Bugguide has many pictures of Zelus longipes and a few of them do have the striped legs and antennae. The link below has a photo of a specimen from the Everglades that looks pretty much identical (slightly different pattern on the head and thorax). It is identified as Z. longipes but there is also an interesting exchange of comments about whether it is a color variant or a separate species. K
http://bugguide.net/node/view/93032/bgimage
Eric Eaton cites same link
Daniel:
It *is* a milkweed assassin bug, Zelus longipes, though you are not alone in being confused. Check out this image and thread:
http://bugguide.net/node/view/93032/bgimage
I would not have known either, my friend.
Eric
Red and Black Beetle from Kauai
May 15, 2010
While working in the Alakai Swamp in Kauai, I came across this beetle. It was hanging out on a ginger plant leaf sometime midday in late April.
Davi
Kauai, HI
Bee Assassin, we believe
Hi Davi,
This is an Assassin Bug in the family Reduviidae, and its general shape and bright coloration incline us to believe it is a species of Bee Assassin in the genus Apiomeris. BugGuide has images of several North American species, but none exhibit the unusual coloration of your specimen. Alas, the Insects of Hawaii website does not have any members of the genus Apiomeris pictured, and indeed, it has but one unidentified Assassin Bug in its archives, a curious gap in insect diversity that we believe is more likely due to an oversight of the website than to an actual reflection on the arthropod fauna on the islands. The Termite Assassin Bug of Australia, Tegea atropicta, which is pictured on the Brisbane Insect website, has similar coloration, but we do not think it is the same species.
Thank you so much! I went ahead an emailed Entomologist Frank Howarth from the Hawaii Biological Survey and this was his reply:
Hi Amanda,
The bug is the assassin bug, Haematoloecha rubescens Distant, 1883 (family Reduviidae). This species arrived in Hawaii in the 1970s from tropical Asia probably as a stowaway. It is apparently a specialist predator of millipedes, especially the alien flat-back millipedes (family Paradoxosomatidae).
Cheers,
Frank
FGHowarth,
HBS
http://hbs.bishopmuseum.org/staff/howarth.html
¶ Posted 15 May 2010 § ‡ ° Unknown Colorful Beetle In Arizona
May 13, 2010
I found the following bug crawling on the leaves of a sunflower in my school garden today (May 13, 2010). The bug is red, black and yellow, and I have searched the internet and can’t find it. It had two antenna and what looked like a downward-turned horn (very skinny). It stood still while we took a picture of it, then flew to a nearby tree. The weather was sunny.
Mr. Bane’s Class
Glendale, AZ
Yellow Bellied Bee Assassin
Dear Mr. Bane’s Class,
Though it looks like a beetle, this is a True Bug. Beetles have complete metamorphosis and chewing mouth parts. True Bugs have incomplete metamorphosis and piercing mouth parts. More specifically, this is an Assassin Bug in the family Reduviidae. It is known as a Bee Assassin in the genus Apiomeris, and though the under belly is not visible, we believe it to be a Yellow Bellied Bee Assassin, Apiomerus flaviventris which we identified on BugGuide. Another possibility presented on BugGuide is that this might be a Bee Assassin, Apiomerus spissipes which also lives in Arizona. We believe it is the former species because of the yellow coloration as the latter appears to have more white in its markings.
What is it?
May 2, 2010
I saw it under some leaves. not sure what it is.
Doesnt Matter
South Carolina
Wheel Bug Hatchlings
Dear Doesnt Matter,
These are Wheel Bug Hatchlings and Eggs. Wheel Bugs are North America’s largest Assassin Bugs and they are beneficial predators. This is the first letter we are setting to post during our trip to Ohio to visit Mom for Mother’s Day. This will be the first Mother’s Day in 31 years that we have spent with Mom, and we are very excited.
¶ Posted 08 May 2010 § ‡ ° What kind of bug is this
May 4, 2010
These bugs have a sting that creates swelling, pain with hot sensation, followed by itchyness. The bug is located on the Luzon Island of the Philippines.
Al Jolie
Tarlac, Philippines. Luzon Island
Corsair Assassin Bugs
Hi Al,
These are Assassin Bugs, and they appear to be Corsairs in the subfamily Peiratinae. BugGuide has information on the Corsairs, but the website is devoted to North American species. BugGuide does note: “Members of this subfamily are known for their notoriously painful bites.“
¶ Posted 04 May 2010 § ‡ ° 
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