![]() |
Is this insect something I should worry about?
1 Attachment(s)
I don't know what kind of bug this is but there's two of them amongst my plants. If it is beneficial I will leave them of course but if not well I guess it's good-bye. I'll put them outside. Anybody know what this is?
|
Looks like an Assassin bug, family Reduvidae. They prey on other insects, so they're harmless to orchids. But not to orchid keepers! Very painful bite, much worse than a bee sting.
|
Quote:
|
I was bitten on the arm by one of our native species, the wheel bug. It felt like a hot knife going in, and after a couple days it necrotized an area about .5" in diameter.
|
Whoa!!!
|
I would get rid of them...there's a high probability for a sting...it's just a matter of time.
|
Well I googled this bug and at first I thought it was like you said the kissing bug, but turns out it is a western Conifer seed bug. It has little pouches on the lower hind legs, and the Articles and photos that I viewed and read said that this bug is often confused with several other species of bugs.
|
Nice to know you don't have to worry about an Assassin bug bite! Now you need to wonder why these are on your plants........
|
I think I'd escort these guys outside. The seed bugs like to over-winter inside, sometimes in large numbers, and they can cause a stink when disturbed. Close relatives can be hard to tell apart, they all have piercing-sucking mouth parts that can feed on plants. Just in case these aren't exactly the conifer seed bugs I think I'd go ahead and move them out. Definitely not beneficial, possibly not harmful, but not who I'd want to spend the winter with!
|
Yeah, that's a true bug, family Hemiptera, and suborder Heteroptera. They eat plants, are ugly as sin, and some will bite. I wouldn't escort it outside and I wouldn't let it be. I WOULD kill it, and any others. Kill it with DE, kill it with insecticide, kill it with fire, but kill it.
|
All times are GMT -4. The time now is 09:27 AM. |
3.8.9
Search Engine Optimisation provided by
DragonByte SEO v2.0.37 (Lite) -
vBulletin Mods & Addons Copyright © 2025 DragonByte Technologies Ltd.