What Do Assassin Bugs Eat? Are They Beneficial Predators?

As the name suggests, assassin bugs are prolific killers. But this ability to kill most other insects can be beneficial in your garden too! So, what do assassin bugs eat? Let’s find out.

Despite their notorious image, If there is one variety of bugs that everyone needs in their garden, it’s the assassin bugs.

Notwithstanding the ominous name, the assassin bug is a beneficial insect that is a natural pest predator and can help protect your plants.

Almost every type of assassin bug feeds on pests like crickets, centipedes, aphids, insect eggs, grasshoppers, and spider mites.

Intrigued to learn more about what assassin bugs eat? Read on!

Assassin Bugs: What Are They?

Assassin bugs come from the Reduviidae family and are found worldwide, including Central, North, and South America, Asia, Europe, and Africa.

There are approximately 200 species of assassin bugs in North America and about 7,000 worldwide.

The most common type of assassin bug is the wheel bug (Zelus longipes), but there are several other types of bugs in this category.

There are milkweed assassin bugs, leafhopper assassin bugs, damsel bugs, big-eyed bugs, ambush bugs, and so many more!

What Do They Look Like?

Assassins are all predatory insects who feed on garden pests to fill their stomach. The typical features of an assassin bug include:

• A three-segmented, sharp beak
• Round and protruding eyes
• Long and tubular head with the elongated body
• Legs more extended than most insects
• They have wings, but they are not very good at flying

Apart from the above features, assassin bugs come in many colors, be they black, brown, gray, green, reddish, or pale.

Another thing to notice about them is that they are usually smaller than a half inch, but since they exist in a wide variety, it depends on what kind of assassin bug it is.

For example, the wheel bug is the largest species of assassin bug in North America. It is colored grey and has a topknot on its back that can help you distinguish it from others of their kind.

What Do They Eat?

Some of the popular insects that these bugs use as their primary food source would include the following:

• Spider mites
• Tiny aphids
• Caterpillars
• Scale insects
• Grasshoppers
• Armyworms
• Insect eggs
• Corn earworms
• Crickets
• Mosquitoes
• Beetles
• Leafhoppers
• Asparagus beetle larvae and eggs
• Insect eggs
• Mexican bean beetles and more

Even though the assassin bugs are known for killing and feeding on only garden pests, they can actually eat just about anything.

Assassin bugs have a big appetite, so they can feast upon a small beetle but also devour a giant caterpillar larger than themselves.

These bugs also feed on other beneficial insects, including bees and ladybugs.

While most members of the assassin bug family feed on garden pests, some others are bloodsuckers, like the kissing bug. The ambush bug drinks flower nectar to survive.

Some assassin bugs are aggressive hunters who actively seek their prey before they kill. However, most assassin bugs are lurkers who wait to ambush their prey instead of stalking them.

How Do They Hunt?

With their voracious appetite, the assassin bugs are always on a hunt and have some very unique hunting strategies to kill their prey.

Baiters

For example, many assassin bugs cover their forelegs with a tree’s sap to catch their prey. Some bugs, such as termite assassins, also use the carcass of another insect as bait to attract the insects or pests they wish to prey on.

Venomous

Many of these bugs also hide under the leaves or rocks and wait for their prey to show up before they pounce on them.

They hold their prey between their thick forelegs and stick their needle-like mouth to inject venom into their bodies which converts their insides into a fluid.

In this way, they can effectively kill their prey and then suck out their bodily fluids. Once they are done feeding, they leave behind the empty shell of the insect’s body.

Bloodsuckers

As mentioned before, kissing bugs, another kind of assassin bug, drink blood instead of following the simple procedure of killing their prey.

They do not eat the regular garden pests but suck the blood out of warm-blooded creatures found in barns, dog houses, chicken coops, and other woodland areas.

Kissing bugs are dangerous for humans because they are carriers of Chagas disease.

How Are They Beneficial To Your Garden?

Assassin bugs are beneficial for gardens because they naturally help humans get rid of unwanted pests.

These pests would otherwise damage or destroy your precious plants, flowers, and fruits. Thankfully, assassin bugs greatly help reduce possible infestations since garden pests are their primary food source.

They are naturally drawn to leafy vegetables, flower gardens, and orchards, often infested by common garden pests like caterpillars, aphids, beetles, ladybugs, and more.

Since many species of assassin bugs feed on these pests, they often hide under the leaves or rock to catch them at the right moment, pierce their bodies to transfer their venomous liquid into them, and suck out all the nutrients of the insect.

Even the wingless nymphs of these bugs start feeding small insects right after hatching, doing their bit to reduce plant-killing insects from the garden. 

How Can You Attract Them?

While it may take a while for the assassins to enter your garden and establish themselves there, here are a few tips for you to attract them into your orchard.

• Fill up a small pool of water in a bowl and add some rocks where the assassins can sit and drink water.
• Keep your outdoors lit since the assassins are attracted to illuminated areas.
• Entice them with colorful flowers since many species of assassin bugs enjoy sitting on them as they wait for their prey

If you use pesticides often in your garden, use only the narrow-spectrum ones. Once you find assassin bugs in your garden, try not to use pesticides at all.

Pesticides will harm both assassins as well as other pests, so it’s never a good idea to use them in your garden.

Frequently Asked Questions

Are assassin bugs good for a garden?

Yes, assassin bugs are suitable for gardens since they naturally prey on other garden pests like caterpillars, aphids, grasshoppers, etc.

They are a cost-effective and simple way to keep away most types of harmful garden pests that can hurt your plants.

What are assassin bugs attracted to?

Assassin bugs are attracted to gardens full of flowers, leaves, rocks, and other pests. They are also attracted to light.

If you want to bring these bugs into your garden, try to keep your porch lights on and make provisions for easy access to water in your garden.

What happens if an assassin bug bites you?

Assassin bugs have painful bites, but they are not harmful to humans. The most they can do is secrete their saliva into your skin, resulting in itchiness, rashes, or swelling.

If you are allergic to insect bites, then the reaction might be more severe, including hives, difficulty breathing, and even anaphylactic shock. Get in touch with a doctor immediately.

Will assassin bugs eat ladybugs?

Yes, assassin bugs feed on most garden pests, including ladybugs. In a way, this is a bad thing because ladybugs are also beneficial insects that feed on other pests.

Assassins are indiscriminate killers, so it could be a double-edged sword keeping them in your garden. They might end up wiping out all your other natural predators of pests.

Wrap Up

Assassin bugs are nature’s pest-eating machine. All you have to do is to give them the right environment and leave them to do their job.

Make sure that you do not end up killing them with pesticides. These bugs are somewhat indiscriminate killers, so make sure they don’t end up eating other beneficial insects in your garden.