Arilus cristatus
Don’t be fooled by this guy’s grey eyes and fancy crest. He is an assassin! Ok so his guts are spewing out. I swear I didn’t do it.
The Arilus cristatus is one of the bugs in the Reduviidae family, also known as assassin bugs. I don’t know what gives them this specific fame, since a great deal of arthropods are just as vicious predators as these are. Maybe it’s the beak.
About that beak, they plunge that thing into their prey and inject liquefying enzymes into them. Then they drink it up. It’s basically a injection needle that doubles up as straw. Don’t you wish you had one? I know I do. Maybe a detachable one, you know, so you don’t have to walk around with that thing on your face when you’re not in the mood to inject liquefying enzymes on anyone.
They eat mostly pests like catterpillars and japanese beetles, but they also eat bees, so they just kind of help.
I hear the bites are really painful, though, so if you want to play with one, try to find one whose guts are spewing out. That guy had greater concerns than trying to liquefy me.
So, according to this website I read,
the bite has been described variously as worse than stings from bees, wasps, or hornets. [...] In general, initial pain often is followed by numbness for several days. The afflicted area often becomes reddened and hot to the touch, but later may become white and hardened at the puncture area. Occasionally, a hard core may slough off, leaving a small hole at the puncture site.
Naaasty! But apparently ammonia neutralizes the effect of the enzymes, so pee on it!
Can you tell I’m in a silly mood? :p
Arilus cristatus by The Bug Lady, unless otherwise expressly stated, is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 3.0 United States License.
Tags: Arthropod, assassin bug, poison, wheel bug
