Reduviidae (from the contained genus, Reduvius which comes from the Latin reduvia meaning hangnail or remnant) is a large, cosmopolitan family of predatory insects in the suborder Heteroptera.
It includes assassin bugs , wheel bugs (Arilus cristatus), and thread-legged bugs. There are about 7000 species altogether, making it one of the largest families in the Hemiptera.
Adult insects often range from 4 to 40 mm. They most commonly have an elongated head with a distinct narrowed
neck, long legs, and a prominent, segmented tube for feeding (rostrum). Most species are dark in color with hues of brown, black, red, or orange. The most distinctive feature of the family is that the tip of the rostrum fits into a groove in the prosternum, where it is rasped against ridges there (a stridulitrum) to produce sound, a tactic often used to intimidate predators. If harassment continues, they can use their rostrum to deliver a painful bite which in some species can be medically significant.
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| Thread Legged Assassin Bug |
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| Masked Hunter Nymph |
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| Thread Legged Assassin Bug |
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| Thread Legged Assassin Bug |
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| Masked Hunter Nymph |
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Acanthaspis sp, Ant Snatcher
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Acanthaspis sp, Ant Snatcher
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| Thread Legged Assassin Bug |
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Thread Legged Assassin Bug
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