View allAll Photos Tagged assassinbug
The wheel bug, Arilus cristatus (Linnaeus) or assassing bug is a scary but beneficial bug that preys on pest insects. However, its bite can be more severe than a bee sting, and both nymphs and adults should be avoided or handled with caution. (It looks like a killing machine)
Thanks for your visit and taking the time to comment so I can visit your photos, too... very much appreciated! Have a great day!
A member of the Reduviidae family. The mouthparts are tucked into a groove between the front legs, and are used to inject the victim with a paralyzing toxin and feed on the liquefying material.
This tiny little buddy didn't pause while I harassed it with my lens in its face and flash in its eyes!
The Assassin bug waited patiently as the bee worked its way around the flowers. He was poised to strike. The bee had started on top of the flower stalk, then worked its way around the side to the bottom. Had I waited long enough it would have come back up on the other side and possibly ended up with the assassin driving its proboscis home with lightening speed, while holding the paralyzed bee with his leg. I did not participate in the waiting game.
Many years ago I was wandering through my garden and swore I was being watched. The small green bug didn't look very threatening. As the leaf moved with the gentle breeze, the critter moved closer to my camera lens. Once I enlarged the image, I realized I was looking into the eyes of an Assassin bug. Fortunately this insect presented no risk to humans. However they are ambush predators, so I'm glad I wasn't on the menu.
"Nature will bear the closest inspection. She invites us to lay our eye level with her smallest leaf, and take an insect view of its plain"....
Henry David Thoreau
Assassin bugs are best left alone. Most members of the family live outdoors and prey on other insects. However, some suck blood from vertebrates, including humans, and transmit diseases. Fortunately I found this Assassin bug outside of my house.
More information can be found at this link...https://citybugs.tamu.edu/factsheets/landscape/others/ent-1003/
• Assassin Bug
• Chinche Cazadora Rayada
Scientific classification:
Kingdom:Animalia
Phylum:Arthropoda
Class:Insecta
Order:Hemiptera
Suborder:Heteroptera
Infraorder:Cimicomorpha
Superfamily:Reduvioidea
Family:Reduviidae
Subfamily:Harpactorinae
Tribe:Harpactorini
Genus:Cosmoclopius
Species:C. nigroannulatus
Solymar, Canelones, Uruguay
(Rhynocoris iracundus – crvenopjega trčuljica)
U svitanje dana, dok livada šumi od mirisa i svjetlosti, ovaj tihi grabežljivac čeka svoj trenutak.
Čvrsto držeći zelenu stabljiku, Rhynocoris iracundus promatra svijet ispod sebe – u tišini i strpljenju.
—
At dawn, while the meadow whispers scents and light, this silent predator waits.
Firmly gripping a green stalk, Rhynocoris iracundus surveys the world beneath — in stillness and patience.
—
À l’aube, tandis que la prairie murmure ses parfums et sa lumière, ce prédateur silencieux attend son instant.
Solidement accroché à sa tige verte, Rhynocoris iracundus observe le monde — en silence et avec patience.
—
Al amanecer, cuando el prado susurra luz y fragancias, este depredador silencioso aguarda.
Agarrado con fuerza al tallo, Rhynocoris iracundus contempla el mundo en calma.
—
All’alba, mentre il prato sussurra luce e profumo, questo silenzioso predatore aspetta il suo momento.
Saldo sul suo stelo verde, Rhynocoris iracundus osserva — nella quiete, con pazienza.
Common assassin bug (Pristhesancus plagipennis) on a cockspur (Coleus australis) plant. For the Macro Mondays theme "Arthropod". Photo width 2.5 inches.
I wondered if the assassin bug was rearing up because my macro lens was so close to it.
HMM and happy new week!
More information below
I went out yesterday (it's late summer here) hoping to photograph a native bee for the challenge. I got a few not very good shots of bees coming to the cockspur plant the flowers of which the bees love.
When I was giving up photographing bees I noticed something brownish on one of the plant's flower spikes. At first I thought it was a small dried up leaf and then realised it was a common assassin bug laying in wait to catch bees, hoverflies or other insects coming to the flowers.
If you suffer from Entomophobia or are squeamish about insects don't read further.
Assassin bugs are predatory insects. Unlike most bugs that feed on plants, they feed on other insects using a specialised rostrum, a needle-like mouthpart to pierce their prey. They then inject a toxin that paralyses their victim and liquefies its internal tissues. The assassin bug then consumes the liquefied remains.
Today, although I did not see it happen, the assassin bag caught a small Nomia native bee, I later saw and photographed the bug consuming the bee. I decided that quite a few Macro Monday members might find that photo disturbing so didn't post it. I found it quite confronting.
Who else would do this photobomb but the Assassin Bug, an Assassin bug nymph with the red not yet turned to its adult grey.
In the space of a few minutes in the garden I saw both the beauty (in our eyes) of the pipevine swallowtail nectaring on a flower, and the brutality (in our eyes) of the assassin bug killing the tiny insect. It's all nature, doing its thing...
Not sure about this one. I think it's some type of Assassin Bug Nymph. Photographed in Maryland.
4 image focus stack of images shot hand held. Canon 80D, Canon MPE macro lens, Canon twin macro flash. Aperture f/11, shutter speed 1/250, ISO 400, flash set to 1/16th power.
Baby assassin bug.
Quick hand held shot as the bug was moving around, so the focus isn't as perfect as I'd prefer.
In this series of 4 photos, the theme is "caught". One day in my garden I was taking macro shots of flowers when to my surprise an Assassin Bug struck and attacked a Lady bug right before my startled eyes. The Lady bug was attacked, despatched, scooped up and consumed in short order. She was flipped over on her back and her body was sucked out in no time.
Getting in close enough to take good macro shots was a challenge because the activity was frenetic. This is one of the better shots, and still it is poorly focussed. There was no escape or rescue for this Lady bug, it was well and truely caught.
Four spurred assassin bug
Paramount Ranch
This is the first time I've seen one of these bugs but since that time I've seen three others so it must be a good year for them
Wheel Bug nymph. Photographed in Maryland.
A single 2:1 magnification image, shot hand held. Canon 80D, Canon MPE macro lens, Canon twin macro flash. Aperture f/11, shutter speed 1/250, ISO 400, flash set to 1/16th power.
I just discovered through the help of a Google search what this bug was. First one I've ever seen! I was out strolling around the perimeter of the lawn when I noticed him glowing in the sunlight. I understand their bite can be painful but happily I didn't get all that close! :) Off to Roanoke & church today so will wish you all a blessed Sabbath ! :)
Goldenrod is where all the macro action is at as autumn approaches. Various arthropods can be found in its embrace hunting, feeding on pollen, drinking nectar or just flitting about. The wheel bug is our largest assassin bug in the Northeast. It is so named for the cogged-wheel-like structure on the back of its thorax which resembles perhaps the cogged wheels one might find on Colonial and early American machinery. The wheel bug is also said to give a very painful jab. Being wheel bugs don't seem to do anything very quickly, I think I'm safe so long as I never attempt to grab one...