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Species Reduvius personatus - Masked Hunter

mud creature - take two - Reduvius personatus Young Masked Hunter - Reduvius personatus Grey bug - Reduvius personatus What is this? - Reduvius personatus Immature masked hunter - Reduvius personatus Masked Hunter - Reduvius personatus linty bug - Reduvius personatus dust collector - Reduvius personatus
Classification
Kingdom Animalia (Animals)
Phylum Arthropoda (Arthropods)
Class Insecta (Insects)
Order Hemiptera (True Bugs, Cicadas, Hoppers, Aphids and Allies)
Suborder Heteroptera (True Bugs)
Family Reduviidae (Assassin Bugs)
Genus Reduvius
Species personatus (Masked Hunter)
Explanation of Names
MASKED HUNTER: the sticky body surface of the nymph accumulates a coating of dust, lint, sand, etcetera, which masks the presence of the predatory nymph
Numbers
one of four species in the genus in North America
Size
17-22 mm
Identification
Large, uniformly dark brown to black. Nymphs cover themselves with dust, lint, sand, and other debris - which usually matches the color of their immediate surroundings and makes the nymphs difficult to detect.

Adult:



Nymphs:

Range
Holarctic.
Habitat
Often found around houses (porches, verandas, sheds, exterior walls) and may enter homes on occasion.
Season
adults are common in June and July
Food
adults and nymphs prey on other arthropods (bed bugs, sowbugs, lacewings, earwigs are some prey items)
Remarks
Adults can inflict a painful bite if mishandled. Individuals may occasionally enter homes in search of invertebrate prey but they have no interest in humans, do not feed on blood, and do not transmit any diseases.
See Also
The Black Corsair (Melanolestes picipes) is a more robust creature with an enlarged thorax/pronotum that is conspicuously smooth and shiny, plus it has small "ankle weights" on its forelegs and midlegs (modifications of the tibiae that help the insect hold prey and grip slippery surfaces)
Print References
Slater, p. 131, fig. 243 (1)
Internet References
pinned adult image (Insects of Cedar Creek, Minnesota)
overview with photos of adult and nymph (U. of Minnesota)
Works Cited
1.How to Know the True Bugs
By Slater, James A., and Baranowski, Richard M.