the Wheel Bug /Assassin Bug - Now meet its ferocious cousin - You've met the plant eating Stink bug
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Description:
The cousin of the plant-eating Stink Bug is a carnivore. The largest of the Assassin Bugs in North America are the Wheel Bugs! (Arilus cristatus). Like other true bugs in the Hemiptera, including Stink Bugs, the Wheel Bug has a proboscis it uses to subdue and eat their prey. Stink Bugs use their proboscis to stab plants and suck out plant juices. Assassin Bugs are instead ambush hunters, like the praying mantis and stalk their prey. One can often find them among meadow flowers in the fall where they find plentiful pollinators to eat among the blooms. They kill their prey by grabbing it with two front legs and piercing their exoskeletons with their proboscis. They inject powerful paralyzing chemicals into the prey followed by digestive enzymes. These enzymes liquify the body of the insect inside of the exoskeleton and the assassin bug then sucks up the body contents dropping an empty exoskeleton at the end of the meal. Individuals who have been stabbed by a Wheel Bug report the pain to be several times worse than a hornet, followed by numbness which may last several days. Do not handle a Wheel bug with bare hands!
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