Painful small flying insect sting
Fri, Dec 26, 2008 at 10:54 AM
My wife was taking a bag outside when she felt a sting on her finger. She had to physically remove the bug off her finger. She indicated that the sting was quite painful like a wasp. It never tried to fly off and we were able to easily capture it. We didn’t see a stinger in her finger but it did leave a small hole and with a white circle around the sting area. We tried looking through your site and thought it seemed similar to a scorpion fly but it seems those don’t sting. Hopefully you can identify it. Thanks !
BLW
Central Texas

Zelus Assassin Bug

Hi BLW,
This is an Assassin Bug in the genus Zelus.  We have difficulty providing identifications to the species level in this genus except for a few distinctive species.  We frequently get reports of Zelus Assassin Bugs biting people.  They do not bite people for food and there must be some other reason for the bit occurring, like a reaction to some physical contact.  Our reports are that the bite is quite painful, but that there is no lasting negative effect.  You can try searching BugGuide for additional information.

Orange/Black Beetle/Hornet ? NSW
Sat, Dec 13, 2008 at 3:57 PM
My husband found this bug under his sleeve driving it’s spike into his arm yesterday. It got 4 stings in before it wore a size 9 dunlop volley.
Apparently it packed quite a punch, his arm still red/swollen/itchy 24hrs later. Just curious what bug this is? Doesn’t appear to have wings! Looks like a cross between a hornet & a beetle type bug.
Newcastle NSW Australia
Shell
Newcastle NSW Australia

Ground Assassin Bug

Hi Shell,
A little bit of research revealed that this is a female Ground Assassin Bug, Ectomocoris decoratus, which we located on the Geocities Website of Brisbane Insects.  Males of the species are winged and fly while the females are winged.  Interestingly, we found some of the same photos and illustrations on a Brisbane Insects website with a different URL, but the species was listed as Ectomocoris patricius.  We also found a PDF online that states:  “Several other assassin bugs bite people in Queensland. … Ectomocoris decoratus, a fast-moving species with winged males and wingless females, is strikingly coloured in blue-black and orange.  It occurs under loose bark and may be encountered when gardening or clearing vegetation.  Because of its colour and speed, victims of this assassin bug often believe they were stung by a wasp.”  We are not exactly sure what a size 9 dunlop volley is, but it sound like it contributed to the squashing evident in your photos.  Assassin Bugs, except for a few blood sucking species, are thought of as beneficial predators, so we feel compelled to also tag your posting under Unnecessary Carnage.

Ground Assassin Bug

Greeen asssassination with wings
Thu, Nov 20, 2008 at 11:55 AM
I found this bug on my screen that’s on my window. I didn’t want to have this bug roaming around my house before i knew what it was so i close the window and as soon as i did that it hiked up its front legs like a mantis. I saw on your page that it might be an assassin bug? So what is this creature and what does it do?
G-Money
texas

Assassin Bug

Hi G-Money,
Yes, this is an Assassin Bug.  It is difficult to tell from the angle, but we suspect it is in the genus Zelus.

Assassin Bug

Unusual behavior?
Sat, Nov 15, 2008 at 2:22 PM
I found this guy on my writing table, and was surprised to see what he was doing. Is this their normal way of preparing for winter?
BugGuide.net indicates it is an Orange Assassin Bug, Pselliopus. We are in Western Maryland. Second and third photos are slightly clearer, and less interesting. ;^)
MsMuffet
Washington County, Maryland, USA

Assassin Bug

Hi MsMuffet,
Thanks for the wonderful image of a Pselliopus Assassin Bug.  Many Hemipterans, including Boxelder Bugs, Western Conifer Seed Bugs, and Stink Bugs seek shelter indoors when winter approaches.  It seems the same behavior may be true of some Assassin Bugs as well.

What’s that bug?
Mon, Nov 10, 2008 at 2:58 PM
Hi
Last August i found this interesting insect in Namibia. Its amazing the camouflage, is very difficult to see near the rocks.. Its near 1 cm and very quite.
Thanks so much
Greetings from Spain
Javi
Namibia

Masked Hunter

Hi Javi,
Your insect reminds us of a North American species called the Masked Hunter, Reduvius personatus.  The immature Masked Hunter is sticky and attracts dust and debris to its body as a form of camouflage.  Homemakers often encounter dusty specimens in their homes.  One of our favorite images from our archive was a Masked Hunter nymph that was blue because the carpet in its habitat was blue and the carpet fibers stuck to the bug.  If this is a closely related species and it doesn’t have a dusty home interior as a habitat, it would attract sand and small pebbles to its sticky exoskeleton.  Your creature is definitely a Hemipteran, probably a nymph and probably an Assassin Bug, and quite possibly in the same genus, Reduvius, as the Masked Hunter.

Arilus cristatus
Wed, Nov 5, 2008 at 1:52 PM
Good Evening!
A friend called me to my front door earlier. She was on the front porch; I was here at the computer. “Bet you’ve never seen this one before,” she said. She was right. Then, after downloading several shots of the creature, imagine my surprise when I found that it is your BUG OF THE MONTH! No searching through hundreds of pages this time! Thank you, too, for the link to The BugGuide. We both appreciated all the information found there.
As long as it stays outside…
R.G. Marion
Great Smoky Mountains
East Tennessee

Wheel Bug

Hi again R.G.,
We always try to select a Bug of the Month based on what we believe our readership will encounter, and sometimes we err. There are months when not a single letter comes in to substantiate our speculation, but this month we chose wisely. We have gotten numerous additional letters of Wheel Bugs, some posted, some not, and we are happy to post your letter and photo.