Assassin's Venom. Rhynocoris fuscipes, Assassin Bug, and Mint Leaf Moth, Pyrausta panopealis, Tanjung Rumbeh, Lombok, Indonesia
In 2012, S. Muthu Kumar and K. Sahayaraj wrote a fascinating article on the morphology and histology of the salivary glands of Rhynocoris marginatus, a Coreid Assassin Bug, closely related to our Fuscipes (www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3469405/).
And relatively recent research has been done into the possibilties of using Assassin Bugs as an ecologically friendly way of pest control. These Bugs hunt agricultural pests such as moths and caterpillars of various kinds. They inject their prey with a venomous saliva; the article just quoted seeks to clarify the workings of the salivary glands of this relatively small Bug.
No, Sony didn't take this photo in an agricultural area, but the workings in the wild would be much the same. Here's Rhynocoris fuscipes making off with a caterpillar of a Mint Leaf Moth, Pyrausta panopealis (I'm not entirely sure of the specific name because of our Moth's Green Eyes which in Panopealis are taken to be black).
This little drama of life-and-death and a variety of diets - carnivorous and nectarine - took place on a single Mint Plant at the bottom of the almost sheer rocks of Tanjung Rumbeh.
Assassin's Venom. Rhynocoris fuscipes, Assassin Bug, and Mint Leaf Moth, Pyrausta panopealis, Tanjung Rumbeh, Lombok, Indonesia
In 2012, S. Muthu Kumar and K. Sahayaraj wrote a fascinating article on the morphology and histology of the salivary glands of Rhynocoris marginatus, a Coreid Assassin Bug, closely related to our Fuscipes (www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3469405/).
And relatively recent research has been done into the possibilties of using Assassin Bugs as an ecologically friendly way of pest control. These Bugs hunt agricultural pests such as moths and caterpillars of various kinds. They inject their prey with a venomous saliva; the article just quoted seeks to clarify the workings of the salivary glands of this relatively small Bug.
No, Sony didn't take this photo in an agricultural area, but the workings in the wild would be much the same. Here's Rhynocoris fuscipes making off with a caterpillar of a Mint Leaf Moth, Pyrausta panopealis (I'm not entirely sure of the specific name because of our Moth's Green Eyes which in Panopealis are taken to be black).
This little drama of life-and-death and a variety of diets - carnivorous and nectarine - took place on a single Mint Plant at the bottom of the almost sheer rocks of Tanjung Rumbeh.