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The wheel bug (Arilus cristatus), in the family Reduviidae, is one of the largest terrestrial true bugs in North America, being up to 1.5 inches (38 mm) in length. A characteristic structure is the wheel-shaped pronotal armor. They are predators upon soft-bodied insects such as caterpillars, Japanese beetles, etc., which they pierce with their beak to inject salivary fluids that dissolve soft tissue. Because most of their prey are pests, wheel bugs are considered beneficial insects. The are as beneficial to the garden as ladybugs. They are notourious for eating stinkbugs.
Wheel bugs are common in eastern North America, although many people in the region have never seen them. They are camouflaged and very shy, hiding whenever possible.
Wheel bugs are highly regarded by organic gardeners because they consume a variety of insects and their presence indicates a healthy, pesticide-free ecosystem.
The wheel bug has a characteristic dorsal crest, shaped like a wheel or cog. It moves and flies slowly, and in flight produces a noisy buzzing sound. As with other assassin bugs, its proboscis arises from the anterior end of its long, tubular head and unfolds forward when feeding. The bug plunges its beak into its victim, pinning its prey with its front legs. It then injects enzymes into the victim, paralyzing it and dissolving its insides, and proceeds to drain the resulting fluids. The bite of a wheel bug is very painful and may take months to heal (sometimes leaving a small scar), so caution is highly advised when handling them.
The wheel bug is also noted to be very vicious in the wild, and cannibalistic behaviors between them have been noted; for example, nymphs may prey on one another and the female may feed on the male after mating is concluded.
It possesses two scent glands (red-orange in color) that can be everted from its abdomen, usually in reaction to being disturbed. The scent produced by it is not as powerful as that produced by the stink bug, but is still strong enough to be detected by humans.
My daughter gave me a bug habitat. Hung it up right under my patio cover. Protected from wind & rain. Supposed to be for bees and wasps and other bugs to overwinter, and for the burrow species to lay eggs in. Took awhile but I finally had a taker. Had wondered who had sealed up a couple of the holes already.
Female Four-toothed Mason Wasp (Monobia quadridens)
My photos can also be found at kapturedbykala.com
I noticed this 1/4-inch insect moving along a blackberry bush leaf and was able to get this record (meaning horrible) shot of it. The “junk bug” or “aphid lion” is the larval form of the beneficial green lacewing. Here is more information about them: www.al.com/live/2012/11/junk_bugs_are_cute_but_that_lo.html
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I noticed the other day that one of the trees at work had some cute little bugs on it, so I decided to take my camera into work today. I waited until lunchtime and then went and took some snaps. I had to climb in under the branches which where about shoulder height, it wasnt until I was surrounded by branches that i discovered that the leaves where teaming with bugs, which kind of freaked me out. I didnt take a lot of photos and will try again tommorrow
#bugs for #FlickrFriday
These are firebugs. In Russia, we call them soldier-bugs. There are a lot of them in spring and summer, and while they may look threatening because of their bright-red colour, they are not really harmful. They do not bite humans or animals, nor do they damage the agricultural crops very much.
Also, while I was googling what they are called in English, I found out that when firebugs are in this position, they are, in fact, mating.
Happy Beautiful Bug Butt Thursday everyone! Gonocerus acuteangulatus is a herbivorous species of true bug in the family Coreidae. It is commonly known as the Box Bug in the UK as it once only occurred in Box Hill in Surrey where it fed on box trees. Having expanded its range it now occurs widely in the south-east of England and beyond. It is exploiting different foodplants, and has been found on hawthorn, buckthorn, yew and plum trees. I most usually find it on Dog Roses, but on this occasion it was a bramble!
I found this fellow a couple of years ago. Odd thing. I guess they go around and collect junk to cover themselves from prey. I think you can see its feet in this photo.
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Driving on I-680 out of the Bay Area, I was completely seduced, sucked in, lured by the impossible greenness of the hills around me. The traffic was crawling along, so I ducked out of it at the next exit and, instead, tooled along this lovely road alongside verdant fields and happy California cows galore.
I noticed this strange almost cloud looking patches swooping by, and thought it must be my windows... maybe come strange distortion of the tinting... maybe my driving addled madness. Finally I realized, as I pulled to a startled stop, that it was bugs. Hundreds of bugs. Millions of bugs. Far. Too. Many. Bugs.
They hovered in clouds above this little road, with an imposing fence that didn't allow me to explore further, in an undulating line in the air. They were tiny gnat-like things, and they were Everywhere. Freaky. Maybe they were planning something. Keep an eye out...
We look for bugs, we study bugs, we read about bugs and we play with bugs. Childhood is such a gift.