ID strange saw-fin-backed bug

froggyman

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wheel bug

be careful they're assaisan bugs and can give you a nasty pinch
try feeding it a cricket the suck the juice out!
 

Ted

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wheel bug

be careful they're assaisan bugs and can give you a nasty pinch
try feeding it a cricket the suck the juice out!
its not a pinch, it's a dangerous bite.
They have very powerful digestive peptides..
the wound will hurt for a long time and may not heal for 5-6 months..and usually scars from necrosis.
 

thedude

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its not a pinch, it's a dangerous bite.
They have very powerful digestive peptides..
the wound will hurt for a long time and may not heal for 5-6 months..and usually scars from necrosis.
ive never heard of that coming from a wheel bug, maybe one of the african spotted sp, i know wheel bugs hurt alot but like i said ive never heard of scars or necrosis from a wheel bug, but yes they do hurt like a b*tch
 

Ted

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ive never heard of that coming from a wheel bug, maybe one of the african spotted sp, i know wheel bugs hurt alot but like i said ive never heard of scars or necrosis from a wheel bug, but yes they do hurt like a b*tch
yes..their toxins are the strongest of the assassin group.
they arent particularly aggressive to humans, unlike the black corsair and a few others, people do get nailed occasionally.
when i watch them stab a cricket, it usually never even kicks..just dies.
i've been bitten by much smaller assassins and had months of rotting tissue to deal with.

i've also been bitten by a blood sucking conenose, and thats a whole other situation.
not pleasant at all.
 

thedude

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the lol ive heard about the conenose, ive actually have a few dead and dried specimens, dont there carry a virus??
 

Ted

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the lol ive heard about the conenose, ive actually have a few dead and dried specimens, dont there carry a virus??
yes..they can carry Cahgas or the ''sleeping'' disease..its what killed Darwin, i understand.
when i got bit it was in the neck, and my face swelled up and got huge blisters all over it..luckily that was the extent of it.
 

thedude

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dude thats messed up, lol im glad i didnt touch the bugger when i collected him, but yeh that news to me about the wheel bug, ive handled them when i collected found some and never would have thought that there one of the more hurt-full assasin bugs... lol now i gotta go find some next summer and raise em up lol
 

Ted

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dude thats messed up, lol im glad i didnt touch the bugger when i collected him, but yeh that news to me about the wheel bug, ive handled them when i collected found some and never would have thought that there one of the more hurt-full assasin bugs
well, just look at their size! they have to be tough.
i read somewhere that the wheelbug is in the top five most painful bites of any insect.
 

thedude

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like i said i have heard that about the Platymerus sp. was painful and i hope to never find out lol, thats so cool to know that they can bring on the hurt
 

Ted

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like i said i have heard that about the Platymerus sp. was painful and i hope to never find out lol, thats so cool to know that they can bring on the hurt
i hope i dont get bit either.
the smaller corsair was bad enough.
 

Stylopidae

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Yeah...I've never heard of this species causing necrosis.

Secondary infection, maybe...but not necrosis AFAIK.
 

-Sarah-

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No kidding - one of the top five most painful insect bites?

Shoot. I've never gotten bitten before; and I've been handling Arilus cristatus (which is the kind we have around here) for years! Hmm, I wonder if they only bite in defense. They're cute little buggers when they're babies :D

-Sarah
 

Stylopidae

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I must have missed that...in the top five most painful?

Based on what?

Scolopendra subspinpes is said to feel like your flesh is being ripped from your bones and all of the Poecilotheria genus is considered to be quite painful, along with the majority of OW Ts.


Stings from the Pepsis genus are known to be inordinately painful, while bites from Titaneus giganteus could easily amputate a finger or at least break it.

I don't doubt they're painful, but top five?

I think not.
 

pandinus

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well, can any of you cite any data backing any claims, or is this all just heresay? i'm much more likely to believe data which can be referenced. We have them all over the place here, but i never handle them just to be safe. they are huge though.


John
 

Stylopidae

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Pandinus, you know me all too well

When disturbed, the wheel bug can inflict a painful bite. The bite has been described variously as worse than stings from bees, wasps, or hornets. Barber (1919) and Hall (1924) described in detail the effects of such bites. 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. Healing time varies but usually takes two weeks and may take half a year. Smith et al. (1958) reviewed the literature concerning wheel bug bites and concluded that serious or prolonged effects from these bites usually are due to secondary infection or an individual hypersensitivity.
Source

So upon further research...a bit worse than I thought. Bee stings are usually compared to the Apinae subfamily...usually the genus Apis and wasp stings are usually compared to the Vespid family (includes hornets), since those are the most common thing to be stung by.

This is backed up by the Schmidt Sting Scale (Discussed in more detail here), where the Pepsis genus ranks about a point higher than the Polistes genus.

So, worse than I initially thought...but the pain from A. christatus is nowhere near that of Paraponera or those insects which contain a similar venom.
 
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-Sarah-

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I'm not sure where Ted heard that they were in the top five most painful insect bites, but they do look as though they can give you a wicked bite (which I'm sure they could!). I'll occasionally pick them up if I see one outside. They act as though they'd rather run away than pick a fight with your hand. We have these big sweat bees that like to crawl all over me after I've been cutting grass all day - everybody else says they get stung by them, but I've not once gotten stung :rolleyes:

-Sarah
 

beetleman

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i used to keep wheelbugs,raise the young etc. awesome insects to work with:clap: never handled them,but i did get sprayed by platymeris(redspot af.assassin) in the eye:eek: MAN!! did that hurt,was doing some maintance in their enclosure and 1 was hiding right under a piece of corkbark didnt even see it,and bam! that was it,but never been bitten:) as for a scolo.suspinipies bite,i unfortunitly got tagged(accident ofcourse) EXTEMELY PAINFUL!!! nuff said.
 
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