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Project Noah Nature School
Arilus cristatus
Spotted on Apr 14, 2011
Submitted on Apr 14, 2011
6 Comments
Great photo! Derek AKA Latimeria got me totally hooked on wheel bugs :) They're so fascinating. Hope to see more bug photos from you Adam and welcome to Project Noah.
We've had warm weather here in central Florida for well over a month now. The insects are booming.
Very interesting. Up here in Ohio, I can't expect to see an adult until around June or July.
I spotted it this morning (4/14/11) on one of my Bromeliads.
It looks very much like a wheel bug nymph to me. Possibly fifth instar. When did you spot it? You have that it was spotted on April 14, but usually the nymphs haven't developed that far along by then. Of course, you spotted it in Florida, so that might be the reason.
This looks like it could be a wheel bug nymph, or at least an assassin bug or its nymph. If so, it can probably inflict a painful bite. See http://bugguide.net/node/view/166 for more information and see if you can pin it down a bit closer than what I have.