Subject: Strange looking bug
Geographic location of the bug: Holden Beach, NC
Date: 07/10/2019
Time: 10:59 AM EDT
Your letter to the bugman: This bug appeared on our door. It’s quite different and I can’t tell if it’s in the Mantid or the Grasshopper family. Maybe neither! I’m hoping you will tell me.
How you want your letter signed: Ronald
Dear Ronald,
This is neither a Mantid nor a Grasshopper. It is a predatory Assassin Bug known as a Wheel Bug. Your image beautifully illustrates the cog-like projection on the thorax that explains the common name. Like other Assassin Bugs, Wheel Bugs might bite if carelessly handled. They have a proboscis designed to suck fluids from their prey, and a puncture to the skin from that proboscis is likely quite painful.