Insect Picture of the Day

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So, for the “creepy bugs” run-up to Halloween, I had a creepy picture of an assassin bug nymph ready to go. But then reader Dennis Havens sent in this photo, and I quickly realized three things:

1. What’s better than an assassin bug nymph? An assassin bug!
2. What’s better than an assassin bug? TWO assassin bugs!
3. What’s better than two assassin bugs? Two assassin bugs getting busy!

These assassin bugs, Arilus cristatus, are commonly called “wheel bugs”, which is a silly name for a bug that should obviously have been named the “half-a-sawblade-back bug”. And not just because my name for them is more descriptive and accurate, but also because “half-a-sawblade-back-bug.com” is not being parked by domain-name squatters. Not so for wheelbug and wheelbugs–I’m not even going to put the .com next to those words, let alone link them. Anyway, the point is, these bugs clearly did not do their internet research.

Assassin bugs are fitting for Halloween because they are genuinely scary. They are not intimidated much by people, and will rear up in a threatening stance rather than run away. See their beaks, folded back from their heads? The bite of an assassin bug is commonly reported to be “excruciating”. They inject a dual-purpose venom: if you’re a tiny bug, it is very quickly lethal. If you’re a big vertebrate, it causes an intense burning pain. One person on bugguide.net reported the pain was like having a tooth drilled without anesthetic… for two days.

Still not scary enough for you? Okay, check out this video on National Geographic’s website. It gave me the squirms.

I don’t know the exact sizes of these bugs, but Arilus cristatus ranges from 15mm to 30mm long, with the females being much larger than the males. There are four different species in genus Arilus, but A. cristatus is the only species currently found in the United States.