Goldenrod Ninjas

Goldenrods are blooming in abundance at our park. Their brilliant yellow flowers are irresistible to many insects, especially the butterflies.


Delicate and dainty, Pearl Crescents, Phyciodes tharos, were numerous, flittering about on Riddell's Goldenrod, Oligoneuron riddellii.


Common Buckeyes, Junonia coenia, were also enjoying the abundant nectar from the goldenrods. Usually flighty. this one let me sneak up fairly close for a shot before it took off.

When butterflies and other insects are slurping up nectar, they tend to not pay attention to potential dangers that lurk around them. This nearby plant looks fairly safe at first glance.

But the view from the other side tells a different story. Yep, a hungry Praying Mantis lies in wait for an insect to land. Scroll back up to the prior picture and see if you can spot its abdomen, which looks similar to a dead leaf.

The Stiff Goldenrod, Oligoneuron rigidum, in our butterfly garden also had hidden horrors. This gray, dead "leaf" is actually the abdomen of a Wheel Bug, Arilus cristatus. It flew away before I got a decent shot, but you can see a better photo at a previous post. This armored insect grasps its prey and inserts a huge needle-like stylet into the insect, fills it full of paralyzing enzymes that digest the prey's innards, then slurps it up like a yummy bug milkshake. Mmmm good!

But the Praying Mantis and Wheel Bug are not the masters of camouflage. There is one bug that truly rules the goldenrod patch. A goldenrod ninja lurks among the blossoms...

Looking like a dead flower head, the cropped picture reveals the stealthy predator. A Jagged Ambush Bug, Phymata pennsylvanica, is concealed from unsuspecting nectar seekers.

Checking another flower, the small brown patch on the right side of the flower is another Ambush Bug.

By tipping the flower, this angle shows the mini-ninja. But don't be fooled by its tiny size...

Here's one with a small bee which looks like the appropriate size meal for this critter. But wait, there's more. Just like the Wheel Bug, the Ambush Bug also has crippling enzymes in its arsenal of tricks. Faster than lightening, the Ambush bug will grab a bug with its thick front legs and zap it with powerful enzymes that immobilize much larger prey. And many times, they do it while mating! Talk about multi-tasking! This photo from BugGuide shows two little Ambush Bugs mating and dining on a huge BALD-FACED HORNET! Yikes!

Impressive skills, ninja warrior, very impressive!

The Hitchhiker

On the way home from work the other day, I noticed what at first glance looked like a spider on my driver side mirror. A closer look when I got to a stop made me realized it was a true bug of some sort. I hoped the little critter would hold on until I made it home to inspect it. And it did! It endured a 15 minute ride at speeds up to 50 miles an hour. What a trooper!

Here is the little guy. I jumped out of the car at my place and clicked a bunch of pictures. I heard the neighbor kids wonder out loud what I was doing and soon they sent a scout to wander by and take a peek. I heard the report in the distance-"She is taking pictures of a bug, eeewwww!"

My hithhiker was a young Wheel Bug nymph. It must have climbed on my car at the park.

Wheel Bugs are fascinating animals. I found the adult shown above last summer. They are predatory members of the order Hemiptera. Other members are stink bugs, cicadas, leaf hoppers and leaf bugs. Even though they look scary, they are a significant players in the food chain game. I am glad he stopped by for a visit.

My cat Peach shoved her body THROUGH the blind to let me know she was quite annoyed with the whole thing. "Why are you out there looking at a bug and not in here taking care of me? I want nums!!!"

Wheel Bug

Last week we had Biologist Boot Camp at Southeastway Park. Each day we explored various scientific methods that biologists use in the field. On Tuesday, we caught insects with sweep nets. Great fun! I was really excited to see lots of these guys, one of my favorite bugs-the Wheel Bug. What an amazing critter to behold! Ominous looking as it lurks about on the vegetation, looking for prey. "What is that???!!!!" was uttered by may of the kids, wanting to know more about this crazy looking bug. The insect is big, about one and a half inches long, with a strange jagged wheel sticking out of its back. It looks like it belongs in the movie, The Road Warrior.

Wheel Bugs are in the Assassin Bug family, Reduviidae and like the common name implies they are vicious assassins. They have a specialized mouthpart called a stylet that they use to immobilize their prey. The Wheel Bug walks around on vegetation in a slow, methodical way, almost like a mini-robot, until it comes across an unsuspecting critter, usually a soft bodied insect. It will quickly grab it and stab its stylet into the prey's body. I have watched some captive ones feed and they are quick as lightening. Once the stylet is inserted into the prey's body, the Wheel Bug injects enzymes that digest the insides, turning them into liquid. The Wheel bug will then slurp up the juice, like a delicious bug milkshake, using the stylet like a straw.

I am cautiously holding this one, so the business end, its stylet, cannot pierce my hand. In my experience, they usually do not bite if they are handled with respect. If you swat or pinch them in some way, you might get a very painful bite. Sometimes when you handle them, they have orange scent glands located on their abdomen that pop out and emit a funky smell. This one wouldn't do it, so sorry - no pic.

Sorry about the blurry picture, but I cropped it so you could see a close up of the stylet. As you can see, the stylet is fairly large, about half the size of my thumbnail. I would hate to be an insect that had this jabbed into it. You might also note there is a liquid coming out of the tip, which is the saliva it uses to digest its prey's innards. I am using my thumbnail, so I won't get accidentally stabbed.

Wheel Bugs lay eggs on vegetation which are very interesting in shape. Here is a photo of them on Bugguide. When the young nymphs hatch, they are red in color and then gradually turn gray. It takes about three month to change from a red nymph to a completely gray young adult. They lack the crazy crest that the adults have. Below I have a young adult on my hand.

Wheel Bugs frequent areas where there is lots of prey to feed upon. A good place to find them would be on a woodland edge or a weedy area with taller grasses and forbs. Hopefully you will spot one, but be very careful if you attempt to handle it!