CLOSED: What's this red and black bug?

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yakmon Portland, TX(Zone 9b) Jun 24, 2011

I found this on my butterfly bush this evening....friend or foe? Looks kind of ominous!

Russell

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flatpickit Charleston, SC Jun 24, 2011

Looks like the Milkweed Assassin Bug, Zelus longipes.

http://bugguide.net/node/view/337181/bgimage

These are named after the way they mimic Milkweed bugs who feed on milkweed and accumulate toxins. This one instead is a predator and sucks the juices right out of other insects. Careful, it is not a foe, but it can bite (pierce really) if handled.

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yakmon Portland, TX(Zone 9b) Jun 24, 2011

Thanks for the quick response. Looks like it might be hunting on the adjacent empress candlestick plant for cloudless sulphur cats. Seems the more types of plants I get, the more types of bugs come to visit. I have seen some flying critters that defy description! Thanks again.

Russell

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