Thread-legged bugs

 Yesterday, Jeanne brought me a walkingstick bug to take photos of it. I was missing a closeup in my photo collection. First thing I noticed when I got home and looked in the container was that the bug had bent itself midway in the body at a 45 degree angle. I wondered, could a walkingstick do that? 

The answer is…..it was not a walkingstick!  

Jeanne said these were all over her porch screens. So what are they? Thread-legged Bugs (Emesaya brevipennis)!  This explains why they are on her screens. They are hunting. These belong to the Assassin Bug (Reduviidae) family. Walkingsticks are herbivores.

Closeup of its head. The part pointing down is the beak. If you have ever looked at a Wheel Bug (Arilus cristatus) before you may have noticed the beak as well.

Closeup of wings
Update: I forgot to put this photo in yesterday (9-27-2020). It shows the usual shape that can fools you into thinking it is a walkingstick.

Can you see the beak on this Wheel Bug (Arilus cristatus)?

Also in the container Jeanne brought me was this midge (Chironomidae)
In this photo, you can see the haltere.

Another view
Closeup of the midge. Love its antennas! Looks a bit like a bird’s downy feathers.
Closeup of a Conehead Katydid (Neoconocephalus)
Love my microscope!

Keep looking!

2 Comments

  1. Very cool, Mary! I didn't know anything about three-legged bugs. The haltere you pointed out on the midge is also new to me and very interesting.

  2. Thanks! The halteres are a characteristic of the Diptera order except for a few that are wingless. Claire told me about this a long time ago. Always new stuff, eh.

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