Heteroptera
rss Assassin Bug Nymph ?
June 14, 2010
Assassin Bug Nymph ?
Or a space alien sent suck out the brains of Washington politicians. (If so, the bug is much larger than necessary.)
John W
Cape Charles, Virginia (eastern shore)
Immature Wheel Bug
Dear John,
Your awesome Assassin Bug nymph is a Wheel Bug, North America’s largest Assassin Bug. Your sarcasm is refreshing.
Blue spiky fiddle bug with red shoes and feelers
June 13, 2010
This bug caught my attention because it was blue and red against white vinyl siding. (Cheering for USA in the World Cup?)
The metal spikes and two blood red eyeballs on its abdomen make for an evil-looking insect, but it looked more lost than anything.
Photos taken at 5:30pm, 11 June 2010.
Maybe he has a bright idea?
Atlanta, Georgia, USA
Leaf Footed Bug Nymph: Acanthocephala species
This is an immature Leaf Footed Bug or Big Legged Bug in the family Coreidae. Often immature insects are difficult to identify to the species level because they change in appearance as they grow. We have located a similar looking, also unidentified nymph on BugGuide, and that specimen was from Louisiana. The person who submitted the photo was raising the nymphs in a terrarium, and there was some serial commentary, but there is no indication that they were ever properly identified.
Leaf Footed Bug Nymph
We have posted a comment on the BugGuide page to inquire if the nymph was ever correctly identified.
Leaf Footed Bug Nymph
Update: Acanthocephala species
We received a comment from lttlechkn question if this might be the nymph of Acanthocephala terminalis. This is a good possibility, but the match to Acanthocephala declivis seems even close, based on a photo, also from Georgia, that is posted to BugGuide.
Mating Wheel Bugs
June 11, 2010
Hello Bugman,
I know what these are, but I thought you’d like to add these photos to your Bug Love page. The happy couple were outside the door to my apartment, not shy about who was watching!
Sam ~ a big fan, and a friend to bugs
Junction City, KS
Mating Wheel Bugs
Hi Sam,
Thank you so much for sending us your wonderfully detailed images of mating Wheel Bugs, the largest North American Assassin Bugs.
Orange masterpiece
June 8, 2010
I found this bug eating the spider on my outdoor screen. After it was done eating its prey, it turned back to brown.
Dana M
South Carolina
Wheel Bug Molting
Hi Dana,
We really like your subject line, because this Wheel Bug really is an orange masterpiece. Your observation is not accurate. The Wheel Bug has not just eaten a spider. The Wheel Bug has molted and the cast off skin or exuvia is what you have mistaken for prey. The coloration of the newly molted Wheel Bug darkened as the exoskeleton hardened.
Unknown colorful “true bug”
June 8, 2010
These are some old photos I came across that were taken in July 2007 of unknown bugs feeding on seed pods of an unknown plant. I can’t find anything like them in your archives.
At the bottom
South Carolina
Scentless Plant Bug: Niesthrea louisianica
Dear At the bottom,
My you sure have a funny name. These are Scentless Plant Bugs in the family Rhopalidae. The species is Niesthrea louisianica, and the species has no common name. We have posted images in the past, most recently this letter in September 2009. According to BugGuide it: “Feeds on flower buds and seeds of plants in the Mallow family (Malvaceae), such as Hibiscus and Rose of Sharon.“
Thanks for the quick reply. I had looked at all the images in the category
“Aphids, Scale Insects, Leafhoppers, and Tree Hoppers”, which was the only one
that I noticed on the list on the left that I thought likely to contain them.
What’s This Bug?
June 5, 2010
found on bladderpod in bouquet canyon, in la county
Clare
Harlequin Bug
Hi Clare,
This is an immature Harlequin Bug, Murgantia histrionica, one of the Stink Bugs in the family Pentatomidae. Both juvenile and adult Harlequin Bugs are brightly colored and variably patterned in shades of black, white and orange, or sometimes red. Harlequin Bugs feed on plants in the mustard and cabbage family Brassicaceae, and according to the calflora website, Bladderpod is in the family. We frequently encounter Harlequin Bugs on the mustard plants that proliferate in Elyria Canyon Park as well as the collards and kale in our home garden patch. Harlequin Bugs have sucking mouthparts and they extract liquid nourishment from the plants they feed upon. You can read more about Harlequin Bugs on BugGuide.
P.S. Thanks for the advice on chicken coops. The Sunday garden project is going to include converting an old wooden work table into a chicken coop for the front yard.
Red Beetle Bug
June 5, 2010
I found this beetle in my back yard on Maui today and have never seen it before. Can you tell me what kind of beetle bug it is?
Rachael Ray
Waikapu, Maui
Assassin Bug
Hi Rachael,
WE received another image of this Assassin Bug a few months ago, and this is what Entomologist Frank Howarth from the Hawaii Biological Survey had to say: “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).“
Good or Bad bug?
June 3, 2010
This was in my garden in Austin TX. I was not sure if I should have chased it away or not. Since it scared me, I took its picture and left it alone 
I don’t even know what category to look in?
Thanks!!!
Kat
Austin TX
Molting Leaf Footed Bug
Hi Kat,
This is an immature Leaf Footed Bug or Big Legged Bug in the family Coreidae, but we are uncertain of the species. The immature nymphs often look nothing like the adults which are more commonly pictured in identification guides. Additionally, the coloration of a freshly molted individual will quickly darken. Your photo of a molting immature Coreid Bug is quite stunning.
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