Bee Assassin

Description:

This Bee Assassin Bug was sitting on a guajillo shrub, just waiting for a honey bee to land nearby. The assassin bug will use its piercing mouth parts to inject the bee with a potion designed to immobilize and liquefy the hapless insect.

Habitat:

Wildlife habitaf yard

Notes:

Bee Assassins use a clever method of catching their favorite prey, bees. The bee assassins collect plant resin on their front legs, and then use the sticky substance to grab and hold bees. Unlike many assassin bugs in general, Bee Assassin Bugs are good fliers. They have sticky hairs on their front legs which help them secure their prey. Bee Assassin Bugs are usually dark in color with yellow or red markings on the sides of the abdomen. As is common in nature, the bright colors advertise their own distastefulness to predators including birds. Adults are typically ½ inch in length.