Wheel Bugs

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, or 38 mm, in length; it is the only member of its genus. 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, although they can inflict a painful bite if handled carelessly.

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. They have membranous wings, allowing for clumsy, noisy flight which can easily be mistaken for the flight of a large grasshopper. The adult is gray to brownish gray in color and black shortly after molting, but the nymphs (which do not yet have the wheel-shaped structure) have bright red or orange abdomens.

Category:

Education

Tags:

• assassin
• bugs
• wheel
• insects
• crazy
• mouthparts
• entsoc
• rutgers
• entomology
• termites
• sebs

[AirPickles]

Fascinating and horrifying video. I especially like the time-lapse hatching and moulting. Assassin bugs will haunt my nightmares forever.

[k6yardotcom]

amazing video, thank you so much for sharing. lot of great clips here including hatchiling and so on. these seem to be different species, is it ?

thanks again,

--ruben from k6yar films

[insanebeatjunkie]

watch a movie called fantastic planet my friend it was talking about this planet definanatly