I did something stupid.....

[Venom]

I was watching TV a couple days ago, and this black bug flew across the room and landed behind the TV. All right! I was on it in a flash. I thought, seeing it from a distance, that it resembled a western pine seed bug, which we have loads of here. Well, I was close. When I grabbed it, it was indeed a "true bug," and it's general shape was similar. Except it was black, and thinner, and very defensive, and an assassin bug :wall:

I TOTALLY kicked myself! Lol! To think I'd just grabbed it bare-handed :wall: You should have heard it--it make these loud skreeking sounds while straining its neck to bite me. Rather unsettling... Thank goodness it didn't succeed, as it appears to be Melanolestes picipes! :8o

Has anyone else had close calls with assassin bugs?


Oh, and now that I have it, any tips on keeping Reduviids?

 

[Stylopidae]

Back when I kept platymeris mombo, I had one try to stab me with it's rostrum...had it not targeted my thumbnail it would have succeeded.

I don't know anything about that species, so no care tips to offer.

 

[loxoscelesfear]

hemips

no close calls yet, but i make it a rule to not grab any type of hemip. my biggest fear is grabbing a toe biter and getting walloped

 

[beetleman]

:clap: those are awesome assassins!! ive never been jabbed,but when i had my huge platymeris colony (3 types,white spot,red spot,mombos) and wheelbugs.........i love assassins i got sprayed by 1 whitespot,and man did that hurt my eyes for sometime couldn't see for awhile very bad.as for keeping yours very easy small container good ventilation,climbing branches,fairly dry substrate(echo earth,peat,barkchips etc.) very light misting 1 to 2x weekly,feeding any type of bug they can overpower,2 to 3x weekly.hope this helps, good luck

 

[Venom]

Thank you Beetleman!! I will employ the advice My little nasty seems to have "assasinated" a cricket already, hehe. However, I think I may have gottent the ID a bit wrong--it may actually be Reduvius personatus. Their appearance is so similar, but I think it does have the lighter coloured knee joints. I'll check again, but in any case Thanks for the help!!

 

[beetleman]

no problem good luck with that little masked hunter.

 

[Drachenjager]

my daughter got bit by one in our yard its the gray ones with big wheel on its back lol i think they refer to them as wheel bugs ??? anyway. she said it hurt like several words i was unaware she knew lol ....

 

[beetleman]

yeah, those wheelbugs can give a really painful stab

 

[Black Widow88]

yeah, those wheelbugs can give a really painful stab

I know....from experience! I've had a number of "weird" insect encounters in my home. These are just a few:

A moth of some sort ( Arctiidae ) came out of no where and landed on my computer screen. Never seen one like before and I wanted to get a picture of it but couldn't because it flew away by the time I got my camera off my desk.

Wish I did get a pic...oh well maybe I'll see one again and get a decent pic of it. At least I know what it looks like.

A Woolly bear caterpillar! This was on X-mas eve and I went into the kitchen to get something to drink. I believe it was soda any way I was drinking my coke and out of the corner of left eye I saw it crawling on the floor!

I thought I was seeing things! I'll post my diary entry on it sometime later. But Wow! I put him in my bug jar with some food plants that I got from out side and put them in. Next morning I showed my mom and she couldn't believe it! We let it go under a log.

A Weevil that I found on my bed the night I came home from camp 2 years ago. Showed my mom and she asked me "Are you sure you didn't sneak these home to keep as pets in your room?" lol! Every time that happens she asks me that same question.

Which isn't true. They some how got on my clothes while packing with me over looking them. Which IS the truth and my mom knows that of course. But it's funny when ever year when I come home from camp I get a visitor a day later or as soon as I get in my house!

It's nice though. I just hope no wasp make their way into my luggage this year! ;P

Black Widow88