Assassin
bug
Last
year, the focus of the Beneficial Insect of the Week was crop pests. This year, we’re changing things up and
highlighting the many natural enemies that help you out, silently and
efficiently killing off crop pests. [note: featured Insects of the Week in
2015 are available on the Insect of the Week page]
This
week’s feature beneficial insect is the Assassin Bug. I love it when a common
name is so apt. Assassins (at least in the movies) are guns for hire and
they’ll take out whoever is on their list. They’re usually the bad guys but on
occasion can be a force for good (e.g. Jason Bourne). Similarly
in the insect world, assassin bugs are indiscriminate in who they attack,
preying on immature and adult forms of beneficials and pests alike by patiently
lying in wait for their target to come within stabbing distance.
For
more information about these natural enemies, other pests they control and
other important crop and forage insects, see the new Field Crop and
Forage Pests and their Natural Enemies in Western Canada - Identification
and Management Field Guide for identification, life cycle and conservation
options (download links for field guide available on the Insect of the Week page).
Assassin bug (Reduvius personatus), Keith Roragen, Flickr