Wheel Bug with Prey (male Eastern Carpenter Bee)

Description:

This large Assassin Bug is easily identified by the large, cog-like projection on the protonum. Adults are mostly gray or brown with some orange or red on the antennae, proboscis and sometimes legs. Wheel bugs are predators of other insects. This one was hunting near some flowers and caught a male Eastern Carpenter Bee, Xylocopa virginica virginica. Not a small prey item! They are considered beneficial insects, however, they are not choosy about what they catch and eat, as you can see here.

Habitat:

Vegetation near a fresh water pond. Deep Run Park, Virginia.