I recently found this orange bug with long thin black legs in my small herb box on the sage leaves. I haven't noticed any white spots on the leaves of the plants yet so I thought maybe they were nymphs of the assassin bugs since it seemed to have white spots on the body but today it seems to also have black spots. They move fairly quickly. Can anyone confirm if these are leaf footed bugs?
it is the assasin
I've got those guys in my bird feeders. Are they harmful? I've just discovered this forum and am paging through looking for critters I've got in my yard and was thrilled to find one I recognized! Should I try to get rid of them?
well i will tell you i had one the had killed a yellow jacket so i like the bug, i dont like the bug because i have a butterfly garden and it eats my caterpillars so i usually just relocate them to the other side, they say they have a nasty stingy bite i havent found out yet.
they do eat flies, bees, caterpillars etc.
i do not know of any real harm havent really researched it guess i better. if i find something i will let you know
debi
this is what i found
Are Assassin Bugs helpful at all? Yes, they are among the
beneficial insects, such as ladybugs and praying mantises, who prey on insects
that can harm our garden and crop plants. But you wouldn't
want to pet one!
Are Assassin Bugs hurtful at all? Yes,
some species spread disease with their bites
(see article below). Many also have a painful bite,
designed primarily for biting other insects
Assassin bugs are appropriately named because
of their habit of lying in ambush for their
insect prey. With speed and accuracy, this bug
uses its long "beak" to stab the victim and then
inject it with a lethal toxin that dissolves the
victim's tissue, then it sucks up the liquefied
tissues through its long beak
I found three bugs while weeding that looked like these, but with wings. Are they the same, older perhaps, or something completely different?
See http://tinyurl.com/ljlod7 for an adult assassin bug that may be the same species as your nymphs.
thanks, that's what the winged one looked like
