Common Assassin Bug

Description:

Pristhesancus plagipennis is an ambush predator that belongs to the family Reduviidae, of the order Hemiptera (true bugs), and is commonly known as the "common assassin bug". It possesses a large rostrum or 'spike' on the end of its narrow head which it uses to impale its prey, injecting a digestive enzyme which kills its victim, the contents of which can then be drunk at the bugs leisure. The victim's exoskeletal remains are then discarded. Their legs are long so that they have long attack distance. Adult bugs are brown in colour with transparent wings. Nymphs are black with brightly orange abdomens. Females lay clusters of long red eggs. Nymphs pass through five growth stages to become an adult bugs, and look similar to the adults except smaller and wingless. Later instars will have wing buds but still cannot fly.

Habitat:

On foliage where suitable prey species are found. The assassin bug is common in throughout Australia.

Notes:

A gecko caught my eye this particular day, snapping at the window glass. I had no idea what it was doing, but upon closer inspection I could see that it was trying to catch this bug. Unfortunately for the gecko, it was on the other side of the window pane. Lucky for the bug... and lucky for me. It was my first encounter with an Assassin Bug. As for the photos in this series, apart from some fairly modest colour saturation, sharpening and contrast adjustments, these photos are pretty much straight out of the camera. Grain noise posed the biggest problem (as it usually does with a pocket camera), so that's where most editing time was spent. They're unusual photos though, so I persevered. The abstract effect is simply the reflection on the window of the outside world.