Subject: identification
Location: jeffersonville, indiana ohio valley
November 22, 2013 11:07 am
Hi bugman!
a friend found this sucker outside her door a couple nights in a row. at some point it managed to sneak into her house. personally i think it is someone’s pet that has gotten loose as i have not been able to find any indigenous species that are quite right. its body was about 4 inches in length not counting legs or antenna. she also said it reached up toward her when she tried to scoop it up and out of the house. she joked that it tried to punch her!
Signature: BUGMAN!!!
Though your photo is lacking in detail, this appears to us to be a Wheel Bug, the largest of the predatory North American Assassin Bugs, and we challenge the claim that it was four inches in length. Two inches is a much closer estimate of its exact size. The Ohio Birds and Biodiversity website has a wonderful profile on the Wheel Bug.