All my 'sins, come to haunt me

[cacoseraph]

All my 'sins, come to haunt me

i recently caught two Apiomerus sp. Bee assassins. *I have killed a couple before, but these two are doing much better. I am hoping to get eggs out of at least one, but do not know how to sex them, yet =P




So far i have found that my adult Apiomerus will take dead bees and live flies and small beetles. *I wish they would take dead crickets, though.

Both my sins poked a hole in a lady bug larva, but neither wanted to eat it.



My assassin album on photobucket : http://s21.photobucket.com/albums/b287/cacoseraph/insect/bug/assassin/

tasting the ladybug larva

http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b287/cacoseraph/insect/bug/assassin/AssassinVsLadybugLarva03b.jpg




sin eating an already dead bee

http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b287/cacoseraph/insect/bug/assassin/BeeAssassinAtWork01b.jpg

http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b287/cacoseraph/insect/bug/assassin/BeeAssassinAtWork02b.jpg

eating a beetle it killed for itself

http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b287/cacoseraph/insect/bug/assassin/SinEatsBeetle01b.jpg

http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b287/cacoseraph/insect/bug/assassin/SinEatsBeetle02b.jpg

 

[zonbonzovi]

Neat- I think I finally know what unknown species Gonzo was modeled after!

 

[BiologicalJewels]

hey Andrew... how 'bout those "mealy bugs" you caught at the small valley crawl?

 

[ZergFront]

Very pretty. Too bad it doesn't eat crickets. Also, I have noticed ladybug larvae don't seem to be too appealing to many critters.

 

[cacoseraph]

@zon
holy crap! i think you figured it out!

@balam
total loss.


@zerg
well, i bet it will eat live ones... i just have a freezer full of dead ones =P

 

[Galapoheros]

I've read lady bugs taste bad to birds, don't know who the birds told that to, must have been a parrot. But I bet it has something to do with the sins not liking them too, whatever it is. The ones around tx are colored diff, I see them in my backyard but never tried to keep any.

 

[BiologicalJewels]

Caco, have you tried feeding them small roaches?
Small dubia might seem appetizing to them.. and they are quite the breeders.

 

[cacoseraph]

i don't think i have.

really, i expect they will take just about any little bug... i just don't have any colonies going atm and when i had them in the past

 

[cacoseraph]

i recently got some Reduvius personatus nymphs and they are doing pretty good. *the largest nymph molted for me and now appears to be one instar shy of maturity. *Rpers are known as masked hunters becaue the nymphs are covered with setae and secrete a sticky solution that allows them to adhere all manner of little bits to themselves

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Masked_hunter

hi-res http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b...ct/assassin/Reduvius/personatus/DSCN3716b.jpg

hi-res http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b...ct/assassin/Reduvius/personatus/DSCN3727b.jpg

you can see their camo trick in action, here

hi-res http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b...ct/assassin/Reduvius/personatus/DSCN3744b.jpg


this is the near adult

hi-res http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b...ct/assassin/Reduvius/personatus/DSCN3750b.jpg


this nymph is eating a bean beetle

hi-res http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b...ct/assassin/Reduvius/personatus/DSCN3767b.jpg








i also saw a cool looking Zelus sp. nymph in a park
click on the pics to see a larger version

 

[Kruggar]

ladybugs are toxic aren't they? native spiders drop them from thier webs, birds don't eat them at all... even ants....or so I thought. I often find them on milkweed plants, maybe they are eatting something that eats milkweeds.... which are toxic? Just a thought. It would make sense, if they are poisonous they shouldn't taste yummy.

 

[zonbonzovi]

Caco, do they take wasps/sawflies/other Hymenpoterans as well or just strictly bees? They're very attractive & I suppose they'd do well as a colony(if well fed, of course)?

Edit: ignore the 1st question; it seems that they're feeding interests are pretty cosmopolitan: http://ento.psu.edu/extension/factsheets/masked-hunter