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Family Reduviidae - Assassin Bugs

Zelus luridus? - Zelus luridus unknown orange bug - Zelus longipes Blood-sucker - Triatoma sanguisuga Triatoma rubida Orange with black stripes insect - Pselliopus barberi Arilus cristatus, wheel bug - Arilus cristatus Orange and black bug - Pselliopus Spider? Bug? no idea! - Phymata
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)
Explanation of Names
From genus Reduvius Fabricius, 1775. That is presumably from Latin reduvia, a hangnail (1).
Numbers
158 species in 47 genera in North America listed at nearctica.com
Identification
May be brown, black or brightly colored. Short three-segmented beaks used for stabbing prey. Beak folds into groove in prosternum. Head typically constricted behind the eyes, giving a neck-like appearance. Antennae long, thin, not clubbed. Forelegs sometimes swollen or expanded for catching prey.

Overview of Family REDUVIIDAE
Subfamily Ectrichodiinae
Genus Rhiginia
   
Tribe Emesini
   
Genus Ploiaria
   
   
Genus Empicoris
   
Subfamily Harpactorinae
Tribe Apiomerini (sometimes treated as Subfamily Apiomerinae)
Genus Apiomerus
   
   
   
   
   
Subfamily Microtominae
Genus Microtomus
   
Subfamily Peiratinae (the "pirates", or "corsairs")
   
Subfamily Phymatinae - Ambush Bugs (formerly Family Phymatidae)
   
Tribe Phymatini
   
Subfamily Reduviinae
   
Subfamily Saicinae
   
Subfamily Stenopodainae
   
   
Subfamily Triatominae
   

This overview is based on the classification synopsis prepared ad hoc by Daniel Ryan Swanson, a.k.a. drswanny
Range
Throughout North America.
Food
Predatory on other insects.
Life Cycle
Incomplete metamorphosis: eggs hatch into tiny nymphs which molt several times as they grow to adulthood.
Remarks
Many species can inflict a painful bite on humans if handled, so it's wise to avoid touching them. If one lands or is seen on your body, brush it or flick it off with a sideways motion. Do not slap or swat it because it will almost certainly bite if you try to crush it.
Print References
Borror, entry for reduvia (1)
Davis, N. T. 1969. Contributions to the morphology and phylogeny of the Reduvioidea. Part IV. The Harpactoroid Complex. Annals of the Entomological Society of America, 62(1): 74-94.
Froeschner, R. C. 1988. Family Reduviidae Latreille, 1807, The Assassin Bugs. In Henry, T. J. & R. C. Froeschner. Catalogue of the Heteroptera, or True Bugs, of Canada and the Continental United States. E. J. Brill, Leiden. 616-651.
Giacchi, J. C. 1969. Revision del genero Stenopoda Laporte, 1833 (Hemiptera, Reduviidae, Stenopodainae). Physis, Secc. C, 29: 1-26.
Maldonado Capriles, J. 1990. Systematic Catalogue of the Reduviidae of the World. University of Puerto Rico, Mayaguez. 694 pages.
Schumacher, F. 1924. Zwei ubersehene Hemipteren-Gattungen. Deutsches Entomologische Zeitschrift, 1924: 335-337.
Shuh, R. T. & J. A. Slater. 1995. True Bugs of the World (Hemiptera: Heteroptera): Classification and Natural History. Cornell University Press, Ithaca. 336 pages.
Weirauch, C. 2008. Cladistic analysis of Reduviidae (Heteroptera: Cimicomorpha) based on morphological characters. Systematic Entomology, 33: 229-274.
Willemse, L. 1985. A taxonomic revision of the New World species of Sirthenea (Heteroptera: Reduviidae: Peiratinae). Zoologische Verhandlingen, 215: 1-67.
Wygodzinsky, P. 1966. A monograph of the Emesinae (Reduviidae, Hemiptera). Bulletin of the American Museum of Natural History, 133: 1-614 (2).
Internet References
pinned adult images in 8 genera (Insects of Cedar Creek, U. of Minnesota)