This presentation was for the Marietta Natural History Society, and I was the first undergraduate to present for them in their history. My task was to educate the public about one of North America's most interesting insects: the wheel bug, Arilus cristatus.
2. Why the Wheel Bug?
• Well I have this friend with a gas can…
3. So…Assassin Bugs?
• Yes, Assassin Bugs!
• Family Reduviidae, 150 species north of
Mexico
– Worldwide: 6600+ species
– Found at forest edges, fields
• Predaceous on a wide variety of invertebrates
– Ambush predators
– Some are active hunters
16. First Impressions
• Its robotic movements and not-so-cuddly
looks give it a bad rap
• For example…
• http://www.wtae.com/video/29732251/detail
.html
17. Bad to the Bone
• Obviously, a wasted educational opportunity
• When do wheel bugs enter into the public
eye?
18.
19. From Hagerty AM & McPherson JE. 2000. Life history and laboratory rearing of
Arilus cristatus (Heteroptera: Reduviidae) in southern Illinois. Florida
Entomologist. 83(1): 58-63.
20. Backyard Biology
• Relatively common, if you keep your eyes
open
• Should we be afraid of this common BLOOD
THIRSTY ASSAULT ON OUR HOMESTEADS?!
21. • Well, of course not. But why?
• What’s so great about our friend, the wheel
bug?
And more
importantly,
could you love a face
like this?
31. But that’s not the end of our story!
• In a few months, we’ll have beautiful wheel
bugs again!
• If you find one, watch it for a while and gain a
better appreciation for it.
– One of the most beautiful things I’ve ever seen?
An insect leg.
32. To learn more…
• BugGuide.net
• ProjectNoah.org
• Normal Biology
– normalbiology.blogspot.com
Notas do Editor
Sticky hairs to catch prey
Millipede predation – UV fluorescence
Fossa pads
Find in flower heads, small, stout
So you’ve seen some assassin bug diversity, what about actually finding them yourself? I’ve been doing some research..
I received an ISG during the summer, have continue my work for capstone during the fall, finalizing for presentation.
34 assassin bugs found during summer and fall, 7 species.
Here are the 7 species I found. Beautiful, aren’t they? The first research to come out of the Beiser Field Station.
So now we’re going to talk about the wheel bug, woohoo! Largest terrestrial true bug, up to 2 inches
This is a bug that makes an impression. Can be intimidating, has been described as grotesque….in the scientific literature. I was pretty angry after I watched this. Obviously, since I love bugs. So I did what any normal person would do: I sent the station an angry e-mail about their misrepresentation of the wheel bug, then ranted about it on Facebook. It’s kind of funny: if you look at the comments on that page that are from Facebook, I know about half of them. They did not respond to me.
Common—I’ve found it on campus, my backyard, by the dam, near Dayton…
Generally, the wheel bug avoids humans and is defensive, not an attacker. It won’t hunt you down. But that would be terrifying. A bite can be pretty bad, worse than a hornet. I’ve toyed around with testing how badly bites from species of assassin bugs hurt, but haven’t gotten around to it. And no, I have not yet been bitten. Yet.
Describe how it attacks its prey. Colorful language! Note how its holding its prey: vicegrip! Learning about its diet and the diet of other assassin bugs is important for uses such as IPM. Can be beneficial (Japanese beetles), but is a generalist, so eats things like honey bees. Not so good. Prey dies “15-30 seconds”. Eh…try 11-24 minutes.
Cogs can vary from 8-12. There’s not an explanation for its use: maybe to warn predators, species recognition, camouflage, or intimidate predators? It certain works on humans. It’s hollow: if it were solid, just imagine how clumsier they would be when they flew. They’re already like helicopters.
If there are children in the room, pretend you’re not watching this part. It’s pretty sultry.
Male riding behavior: function as defense or not wanting to get eaten? Water strider riding
Eggs! Held together with a cement that protects from the elements and parasites, overwinters and hatch in the spring. They can lay a lot at a time, this one almost laid 200. The literature has described them as fancy wine bottles, which is funny. After oviposition, I’ve found that the female increases her activity a whole lot: flying around everywhere, for at least a half hour. Dispersal away from eggs, don’t put all your eggs in one basket.
Don’t run away next time you see one. I gained a huge appreciation for the beauty of insects after watching a pleasing fungus beetle move its leg under the microscope.
Bring in specimens for people to look at, business cards.
