An Assassin Bug
The Wheel bug, a member of the Assassin bug family, little known and lesser seen: an insect identified by how it kills for a living, and here is starting to raise its hind leg
_________________________________
Charlotte, NC – 2019OCT05 – Wheel Bug:
I spied it "hiding" in our potted bromeliad on our front porch.
The wheel bug (Arilus cristatus) is an assassin bug, and one of the largest terrestrial true bugs in North America, up to 1½" (38 mm) in length. The name "wheel bug" comes from its cog-shaped dorsal armor, the only insect in the United States of America with such a structure. The orangy beak at the front of its long, tubular head can pierce soft tissue (like your finger), injecting digestive enzymes and powerful neurotoxin lethal to other arthropods. The wheel bug feeds mainly on insect pests, thus is considered a beneficial insect.
A wheel bug's bite (pierce) is severely painful, and slow to heal in humans: be very careful in handling these bugs (cautious, or avoid handling), yet wheel bugs are not aggressive toward humans, and won't attack if not picked up. I didn't know that and I picked it up. Four times!
After I handled this bug, I read about its excruciatingly painful injection (10 times more painful than a hornet sting or snake bite).
I am holding this bug in 118 of the 119 one-handed photos I took today, some with our Nikon, mostly with my cell phone.
Hope you enjoy the 12% of my photos, and I did put the bug back!
An Assassin Bug
The Wheel bug, a member of the Assassin bug family, little known and lesser seen: an insect identified by how it kills for a living, and here is starting to raise its hind leg
_________________________________
Charlotte, NC – 2019OCT05 – Wheel Bug:
I spied it "hiding" in our potted bromeliad on our front porch.
The wheel bug (Arilus cristatus) is an assassin bug, and one of the largest terrestrial true bugs in North America, up to 1½" (38 mm) in length. The name "wheel bug" comes from its cog-shaped dorsal armor, the only insect in the United States of America with such a structure. The orangy beak at the front of its long, tubular head can pierce soft tissue (like your finger), injecting digestive enzymes and powerful neurotoxin lethal to other arthropods. The wheel bug feeds mainly on insect pests, thus is considered a beneficial insect.
A wheel bug's bite (pierce) is severely painful, and slow to heal in humans: be very careful in handling these bugs (cautious, or avoid handling), yet wheel bugs are not aggressive toward humans, and won't attack if not picked up. I didn't know that and I picked it up. Four times!
After I handled this bug, I read about its excruciatingly painful injection (10 times more painful than a hornet sting or snake bite).
I am holding this bug in 118 of the 119 one-handed photos I took today, some with our Nikon, mostly with my cell phone.
Hope you enjoy the 12% of my photos, and I did put the bug back!