Friends or Foes?

These evil looking little guys have been visiting my hibiscus plants. A squirt of water removes them but they quickly come back.

and how about this guy is he their daddy?

not sure but they look like assassin bugs. I've been told they are harmless. You might want to try the bug file

hee, hee.... I think that IS their Daddy...I've got them too... my nephew, the bug expert(he's 12), says they're assassin bugs too... Heck, I just kill 'em.... with insecticidal soap... they creep me out... and the Mama lays tons of eggs on everything!!

Well Duh, I never even knew we had a PlantFiles. There are about 30 different types of Assassin Bugs listed and only one photo (of a different bug). A quick check of Google says there are about 3000 species. That is a lot of good guys. I will submit these photos if I can figure out which species they are.

Shoob, if your nephew says it is an Assassin Bug, well far be it for me to question a 12 year old. No one knows more about bugs than young boys. My DIL just told me my 2 yr. old GS prefers a nature program where they look at bugs to his tumbling class. Obviously he takes after his father who always had a bug or two in his pockets.

they're eating the bad bugs...they're the good guys........

ardesia, assassin bugs are befenicial insects. Although the leaf where they are settled is partially yellow, they are there waiting for eating who caused that yellow leaf.

Regards

Carlos

Hi Carlos, Yes, that leaf is yellow and I hesitated to post that photo because I didn't want anyone to see it . LOL

I have looked with a magnifier and have not found aphids or any of the usual pests but I did find some microscopic bugs that might be really teeny tiny ants (not the kind that are attracted to the aphid honey) in that area around the base of the seed pod. There is moisture there and perhaps nectar?

As a rule, I don't use chemicals so the good bugs are safe with me.

They're good guys- I've seen them carting off nasty things several times their size and I'm happy to let them go to it.

But beware- they're not terribly agressive with people, usually just flying away, but if they get mad, watch out! Their bite is really really nasty, which I learned first hand. I looked them up online to see why and...ick. They stick their proboscis in and pump in a toxin which disolves the flesh it touches so they can suck it up their little straw mouths.

That said, they've got a kind of friendly cartoonish look, like their heads are always cocked, trying to figure you out...lol...

Yuck, I will now avoid them at all costs. Flesh dissolving ??????? Yuck again.

But on the other hand, they mostly leave you alone, and go after all the bad guys in your garden. Just imagine what's happening to them! ::::laughs evilly:::: ;)

Sometimes the bad guys. They killed some of my Monarch cats. They tick me off!

it's a Western Leaf-Footed bug(western conifer seed bug) Leptoglossus clypealus... found it at www.whatsthatbug.com/true_bugs.html... so, maybe my nephew was wrong?? I can't find pics of babies... it just seems coincidental that we have them both on the same plant...hmmmm

Oh that is it, but one couldn't get much further East than where I live. Hmmmmm

after more investigation, I searched YAHOO IMAGES for "assassin bug" and found this link.... www.twistyfaster.com/pages/fotomat/fauna/assassinbug.htm.... maybe our friend the western leaf footed bug likes hanging out with these babies?... or maybe the babies -being so tiny--need the protection of that big boy... I guess he's just the babysitter.... HA!!

here's the grown up version of those babies... at that link I just posted

at that link you go to "varmint center".. .they have lots of goodies