Gnarly looking bug

[WannaDig3687]

At first I thought this was stink bug. Then I looked it up. It resembles the Western Conifer Seed Bug in some photos, but other descriptions list the bug as being more colorful than this one. So, tell me. What kind is it? BTW it was every bit 1" long.

 

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[Kray Gelder]

Wrightdigger, What you have there is a Wheel Bug, a member of the Assassin Bug family. They prey on other insects by inserting their proboscis into the victim, injecting digestive enzymes, and sucking out the soup. They will bite people, and the bite is nasty and long lived. My wife was bitten by one, and it was very painful and took a couple of weeks to heal.

 

[Jim in Idaho]

It's in the stink bug family, I think. It's a Brochymena, or "hive miner". Most stink bugs suck plant juices for food. The hive miner sucks the juices of caterpillars, and other soft-bodied prey. Good pic!
https://www.google.com/search?hl=en...0i10i24k1.0.RFQ54Sekk4A#imgrc=iosqhO1L0kWeAM:
Jim

 

[Jim in Idaho]

Kray's correct. I got the right pic, but wrong name. Nasty bug. I've never seen one around here.
Jim

 

[WannaDig3687]

Wrightdigger, What you have there is a Wheel Bug, a member of the Assassin Bug family. They prey on other insects by inserting their proboscis into the victim, injecting digestive enzymes, and sucking out the soup. They will bite people, and the bite is nasty and long lived. My wife was bitten by one, and it was very painful and took a couple of weeks to heal.

It's in the stink bug family, I think. It's a Brochymena, or "hive miner". Most stink bugs suck plant juices for food. The hive miner sucks the juices of caterpillars, and other soft-bodied prey. Good pic!
https://www.google.com/search?hl=en...0i10i24k1.0.RFQ54Sekk4A#imgrc=iosqhO1L0kWeAM:
Jim

Kray's correct. I got the right pic, but wrong name. Nasty bug. I've never seen one around here.
Jim

You guys are fast! I am glad I asked, too! I used your information to research. I definitely want to avoid it, but need it around to kill the stink bugs. Thanks!

 

[scruggs]

Kray is correct, it’s an assassin bug. They are beneficial in the garden in that they consume the other bad bugs. It’s like having your own free pest control.

 

[tamrock]

Very interesting.

 

[Chiltepin]

I have always known them to be kissing bugs, they feed off the blood
of mice and pack rats in their nests.

They carry Chagas' disease.
Kissing Bugs and Chagas Disease in the U.S. | Texas A&M

 

[WannaDig3687]

geesh! This farm girl lifestyle is getting scary! Thanks for the information!

 

[Chadeaux]

Kray is correct, it’s an assassin bug. They are beneficial in the garden in that they consume the other bad bugs. It’s like having your own free pest control.

Yep, but wish they were bigger ... maybe they could clean up my squirrel problem.

 

[Chiltepin]

I was trying to find the documentary where they went through all
the blood sucking insects and animals. Mosquitoes, Leeches, Kissing bugs,
Moths, Bats.

They had a family that lived in a thatched hut that was being bitten in the night.
They asked the family to leave and then bug bombed the hut. The next day they
found thousands of Kissing Bugs had been living in the thatched roof dead on the ground.

BBC Nature - Blood sucker videos, news and facts

Happy Halloween. muhahhahahahah!

 

[Kray Gelder]

Wrightdigger, I transplanted to the lowcountry of SC 13 years ago, and as someone who enjoys getting out in the woods, I have had a lot of "what the heck is that?" moments. The outdoors here is a hostile environment for us humans, so I have made it a point to be able to identify my adversaries. Assassin bugs, cow killer ants, wasps, ticks, chiggers, poison ivy and oak, sumac, black and yellow widow spiders, mosquitos, biting flies, horse flies, venomous snakes (baby snakes, the size of a night crawler, freak me out for some reason), gators, water scorpions, leaches, deadly fungi and poisonous fruits. Not to mention crazy wild pigs, rabid foxes. It is NOT a walk in the park around here! The real sportsmen and women here are the ones who run blindly through the woods at night chasing their coon dogs for fun. Utterly immune to the hazards. I tip my hat to them.

 

[yakker]

I was trying to find the documentary where they went through all
the blood sucking insects and animals. Mosquitoes, Leeches, Kissing bugs,
Moths, Bats.

They had a family that lived in a thatched hut that was being bitten in the night.
They asked the family to leave and then bug bombed the hut. The next day they
found thousands of Kissing Bugs had been living in the thatched roof dead on the ground.

BBC Nature - Blood sucker videos, news and facts

Happy Halloween. muhahhahahahah!

Great- thanks for that. My dreams will be all dark and gicthy and full of creepy-crawlies.