Assassin bug
family of insects
Assassin bugs are the Reduviidae. They are a large cosmopolitan family of "true bugs" or Hemiptera.
| Assassin bug Temporal range: Upper Cretaceous–Recent
| |
|---|---|
_with_bee_(Apis_ssp)_prey.jpg)
| |
| Assassin bug (Rhynocoris iracundus) with bee prey | |
Scientific classification 
| |
| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Arthropoda |
| Class: | Insecta |
| Order: | Hemiptera |
| Infraorder: | Cimicomorpha |
| Family: | Reduviidae Latreille, 1807 |
They are almost all terrestrial ambush predators.[1]
Most members of the family are easy to recognise: they have a relatively narrow neck, sturdy build and formidable curved proboscis. Large specimens should be handled with care, if at all, because they may defend themselves with a very painful stab from the proboscis.
References
change- ↑ There are some blood-sucking ectoparasites in the subfamily Triatominae.
- ↑ Weaving, Alan; Picker, Mike; Griffiths, Charles Llewellyn (2003). Field Guide to Insects of South Africa. New Holland Publishers, Ltd. ISBN 1-86872-713-0.