Assassin Bugs
There are several thousand species of assassin bugs found worldwide. They range in colour from brown, black and orange and measuring 2-4 cm long. Their bodies are usually long and thin.
Assassin bug (left), Brown Assassin bug (right)-photo Midwest Biological Control News
Description
There are several thousand species of these bugs found worldwide. They range in colour from brown, black and orange and measuring 2-4 cm long. Their bodies are usually long and thin. They have a long stout beak, 6 legs and a pair of long thin antanae. These are all beneficial insects. These bugs also can bite you if you get too close to then and the bite can be quite irritating.
Lifecycle
Eggs are laid in the fall usually in the soil but they have been know to lay them in cracks and crevices or leaf piles. They hatch in the spring and become larvae. Thier larvae stage last for a few weeks and then they become adults with voracious appetites. There is usually only one generation per year.
Assassin bug at work (left)
Assassin bug with an ant (right)-photo Joeseph Warfel
Eggs-No idea where I found this picture
Diet
They eat ants, beetles, larvae of insects, caterpillars, mole crickets and most other plant eating insects. Some will wait patiently for their prey to walk by while others will actively pursue them. They inject a poison into their prey and then feed on the host. The drawback of this insect is that some species will bite you as they are blood suckers. Birds love to eat these guys so keeping them in your garden is difficult.
July 17th, 2005 at 4:14 pm
I just got bitten by an assassin bug that looks exactly like your picture of a brown assassin bug above. It hurt like a yellowjacket sting and bled a bit. Pain lasted for about 5 minutes but bite site is still tender. (right on the knee) I smacked the sucker and killed it but it’s still in pretty good shape. Except for the flat tail, this thing looks a little like a small preying mantis. I’ve seen these things around for years but never had contact with one until now. I was laying down and felt something on the side of my leg. I guess I rolled on top of it. He’s about an inch long.
October 7th, 2008 at 12:11 pm
My son and I were looking for crickets for his lizard and my tarantula. Far be it from me, to figure out how he managed to pick up an Assassin Bug without getting “bitten”.
As I was collecting the crickets and putting them into the two seperate tanks for the lizard and tarantula, I finally noticed a “beatle”. At least, that’s what I thought it was. It had a dark brown coloring. I reached in and picked it up not realizing, then suddenly I felt this horrible, “burning/stinging” in my finger. The whole tip of my finger above the joint was in immense pain. I’ve never felt anything like it. I immediately screamed and shook my hand, throwing it to the floor.
I used a piece of card board to pick it up. I saw then that it was an Assassin Bug. I didn’t think very much about it. I was just a little concerned about whether or not, I’d have to worry about any type of an enzyme or toxin that he may have injected.
This was a little over a week ago. In the process, my finger still has pain upon pressure, lots of itching and now a slight raised rash is forming on the fingertip by the injection site. I’ve tried draining it, to see if it would help. I’ve soaked my finger in hydrogen peroxide and witch hazel. The witch hazel helped with the itching.
I’ve been stung by a bee in the past and showed no reaction other than just a little itching for a couple of days. Should I expect more with this before it gets any better?
Sincerely
Vivienne B.
October 7th, 2008 at 9:26 pm
Viv…..you should go see a doc. Sometimes some of use have reactions that need some help
Regards
Cahri
October 7th, 2008 at 11:30 pm
Thank you Cahri for your help in this matter. This is the first time an insect bite or sting has affected me so. I’ll call the doc in the morning.