Found an injured wheel bug, trying to nurse it back to health

[Erikthered]

So my wife and I daily spend our spare time watching bugs outside. A couple days ago we stumbled upon a wheel bug who seemed to be struggling to climb up the base of a tree. Upon further inspection, both of her front legs and one of her middle legs are gone. After deliberation and being informed that her limbs will regenerate, we decided to try to nurse her back to health and hope we can keep her alive long enough for her legs to grow back. We've got her in a small tank with cypress mulch substrate and some sticks and a cluster of leaves that we plan on changing daily(we have a tree out front that seems to be a haven for aphid nymphs that I pluck a few leaves from) that we mist with spring water. We purchased some crickets for her, and tried tong feeding( seeing as how her front legs are gone, she can't exactly catch her prey), but she doesn't seem too keen on the idea of feeding off of the tongs. Currently she is in the tank with one cricket who's jumping legs got pulled off in the process of trying to feed her with the tongs, but she's been hanging out on the ceiling of her enclosure and I'm concerned that she shows no interest, other than one time that her proboscis protruded to no avail when the cricket ran by her. Any advice would be greatly appreciated, because we would love to be able to keep her alive until she can fend for herself in the wild(although there's a great chance that we are already too attached to let her go and will quite possibly just keep her).

 

[Brewser]

Assassin Bugs are Ambush Predators.,
Not sure if they will Scavenge, but it's worth a try.
Another option being Slow Moving Easy to Catch Prey

 

[Erikthered]

Update, with a little help, not holding the cricket in the tongs, but guiding it in front of her and stopping it from running away, she reared back and wrapped him up in her proboscis. She had to reach up with her middle leg to keep it down until it was fully subdued. I cannot express how relieved I am to see her eat, I'm like a proud daddy right now!

 

[chanda]

I hope she is still doing well!

Good for you taking care of her - but unfortunately, her limbs will not regenerate. She is already a full-grown adult. Insects are only able to regenerate limbs when they molt. Once they are fully mature, they are done molting. Fortunately, they can survive the loss of a few limbs - especially if you are helping her catch her prey. Crushing the heads of small roaches or removing the jumping legs of crickets will limit their mobility without killing them, making them easier for her to catch.

She is approaching the end of her natural life. The life span of a wheel bug is less than a year, hatching as nymphs in the spring or early summer, growing through the next few months, maturing in summer, then mating, laying eggs - and dying once the weather turns cold and prey disappears. They can last a bit longer in captivity because they are protected from the cold - and prey is supplied on a regular basis. I have managed to keep wheel bugs alive until as late as February in captivity. They're interesting creatures to observe!