Assassin Bug
by Josh
The Stealthy Ninja
Imagine a ninja in dark clothing, preparing to attack. Were you thinking of the deadly assassin bug? Probably you were thinking of the little, weak, puny, scorpion. Well, the assassin bug is just like a ninja. It stalks up close to its prey and strikes quickly to capture it. Then it injects its proboscis (two stylets or tubes that the assassin bug uses to inject and feed) into the captured insect. The assassin bug then pumps venom like hydrogen cyanide. Hydrogen cyanide is a extremely poisonous pale blue liquid that smells like almonds. It’s also called “prussic acid.” The assassin bug can also pump venom into the prey that is similar to the cobra’s venom. The prey’s inside becomes liquid. This can take a few seconds to be complete. Then, the assassin bug sucks the intestines out. This can take up to hours depending if the assassin bug is very hungry.
Assassin bugs can kill a cockroach in 3-4 seconds and caterpillars in 10 seconds! Another thing that you should know is that you should never disrupt an assassin bug. It might spray a poison called benzaldehyde (a hazardous yellow liquid that smells like almonds). So the lesson to all of you guys reading this, don’t bother the stealthy ninja.
Yummy, Yummy, Insect Salad!
Have you ever wondered what the assassin bug eats? Well, now you don’t have to guess about it anymore! Assassin bugs eat small insects (like grasshoppers), small mammals, small reptiles, and small and medium sized birds. Assassin bugs might put sweet smelling poison on their abdomen (their gluteus maximus or buttocks) or front legs to attract their prey. Insects will come all around just to get a taste of it and most of the time either dying or getting paralyzed from it. A species of assassin bugs can spit poison a foot away and hit its target. This happens because they can stick their proboscis high in the air and has a strong stylet. So to all the prey of the assassin bug, beware!
The Life of an Assassin Bug
Do you know your insect life cycles? Well, remember that the butterfly goes through complete metamorphosis (when an animal goes through four stages and changes form)? For example egg, caterpillar, pupa, and adult. The assassin bug doesn’t do that, they all go through incomplete metamorphosis (an animal cycle that has three stages). The assassin bug does this because it belongs to a order called Hemiptera (half wings), or an insect order referred to as true bugs.
First, an adult female assassin bug will lay the eggs in groups of 150 or more depending on the species, on the ground, on plant stems, or under rocks. The barrel-shaped eggs can take up to 10 days to several months to hatch. In the mean time, the parents fight off predators and parasites (or creatures that live off another creature without giving something in return). Then, the assassin bug nymphs (flightless miniature adults) push the top off their egg and go far, far, away to find food.
Next, they will molt (shed) about 5 times until they’ll reach adulthood. When they’re adults they’ll grow wings and reproductive organs (parts of the body they need to reproduce). As the last stage of their life, they can have mates and fly. So, here’s your guide to a buggly ever after for the assassin bug.
Home Sweet Home
Do you know that assassin bugs live on every continent except Antarctica? I don’t think so! Probably you thought they only live in the Amazon Rainforest. Even though they are the most commonly found in jungles around the world, they could be anywhere! They can live inside people’s walls, hollow trees, and rotting logs.
If you find some assassin bugs near your home, leave them alone. You can tell an “insect” or a true bug is an assassin bug because of its colorful markings and its small ovalish head. It has antennae (two sensors that are on top of an animal’s head) and its body length tip to tip can be about 4/100 of an inch to 4 inches. They are beneficial because they control pests. Pests are animals or insects that bother other animals or insects populations. Assassin bugs kill harmful insects that destroy rainforests. Farmers and gardeners love them because they kill pests that eat their crop and can control the populations in the rainforest. This sounds like home sweet home to the assassin bug.
Bug Prize Facts
by Josh
The Stealthy Ninja
Imagine a ninja in dark clothing, preparing to attack. Were you thinking of the deadly assassin bug? Probably you were thinking of the little, weak, puny, scorpion. Well, the assassin bug is just like a ninja. It stalks up close to its prey and strikes quickly to capture it. Then it injects its proboscis (two stylets or tubes that the assassin bug uses to inject and feed) into the captured insect. The assassin bug then pumps venom like hydrogen cyanide. Hydrogen cyanide is a extremely poisonous pale blue liquid that smells like almonds. It’s also called “prussic acid.” The assassin bug can also pump venom into the prey that is similar to the cobra’s venom. The prey’s inside becomes liquid. This can take a few seconds to be complete. Then, the assassin bug sucks the intestines out. This can take up to hours depending if the assassin bug is very hungry.
Assassin bugs can kill a cockroach in 3-4 seconds and caterpillars in 10 seconds! Another thing that you should know is that you should never disrupt an assassin bug. It might spray a poison called benzaldehyde (a hazardous yellow liquid that smells like almonds). So the lesson to all of you guys reading this, don’t bother the stealthy ninja.
Yummy, Yummy, Insect Salad!
Have you ever wondered what the assassin bug eats? Well, now you don’t have to guess about it anymore! Assassin bugs eat small insects (like grasshoppers), small mammals, small reptiles, and small and medium sized birds. Assassin bugs might put sweet smelling poison on their abdomen (their gluteus maximus or buttocks) or front legs to attract their prey. Insects will come all around just to get a taste of it and most of the time either dying or getting paralyzed from it. A species of assassin bugs can spit poison a foot away and hit its target. This happens because they can stick their proboscis high in the air and has a strong stylet. So to all the prey of the assassin bug, beware!
The Life of an Assassin Bug
Do you know your insect life cycles? Well, remember that the butterfly goes through complete metamorphosis (when an animal goes through four stages and changes form)? For example egg, caterpillar, pupa, and adult. The assassin bug doesn’t do that, they all go through incomplete metamorphosis (an animal cycle that has three stages). The assassin bug does this because it belongs to a order called Hemiptera (half wings), or an insect order referred to as true bugs.
First, an adult female assassin bug will lay the eggs in groups of 150 or more depending on the species, on the ground, on plant stems, or under rocks. The barrel-shaped eggs can take up to 10 days to several months to hatch. In the mean time, the parents fight off predators and parasites (or creatures that live off another creature without giving something in return). Then, the assassin bug nymphs (flightless miniature adults) push the top off their egg and go far, far, away to find food.
Next, they will molt (shed) about 5 times until they’ll reach adulthood. When they’re adults they’ll grow wings and reproductive organs (parts of the body they need to reproduce). As the last stage of their life, they can have mates and fly. So, here’s your guide to a buggly ever after for the assassin bug.
Home Sweet Home
Do you know that assassin bugs live on every continent except Antarctica? I don’t think so! Probably you thought they only live in the Amazon Rainforest. Even though they are the most commonly found in jungles around the world, they could be anywhere! They can live inside people’s walls, hollow trees, and rotting logs.
If you find some assassin bugs near your home, leave them alone. You can tell an “insect” or a true bug is an assassin bug because of its colorful markings and its small ovalish head. It has antennae (two sensors that are on top of an animal’s head) and its body length tip to tip can be about 4/100 of an inch to 4 inches. They are beneficial because they control pests. Pests are animals or insects that bother other animals or insects populations. Assassin bugs kill harmful insects that destroy rainforests. Farmers and gardeners love them because they kill pests that eat their crop and can control the populations in the rainforest. This sounds like home sweet home to the assassin bug.
Bug Prize Facts
- They are also eaten by birds!
- Assassin bugs can transmit Chaga disease. This can cause heart failure to a human.
- Their saliva is poisonous.
- People raise assassin bugs as pets! (What!)
- There are 7,000 species of assassin bugs, making it the largest family of Order Hemiptera.
- There are 50,000-80,000 families in Order Hemiptera.
- Order Hemiptera is one of the oldest insect orders.