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Species Stenolemus lanipes
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)
Subfamily Emesinae (Thread-legged Bugs)
Genus Stenolemus
Species lanipes (Stenolemus lanipes)
Synonyms and other taxonomic changes Stenolemus lanipes Wygodzinsky, 1949. (Some sites list publication date as 1925--apparently an error.) Synonyms:
listed as Stenolemus hirtipes McAtee and Malloch, 1925 by Blatchley (1) , pp. 514 - 515. Blatchley notes that this species was usually listed as Stenolemus spiniventris Signoret in older literature. Explanation of Names From Latin lani wool plus pes foot (2)--refers to hairy tarsi and legs. Identification A hairy camouflaged insect, hard to find in its preferred habitat in and/or near spider webs.
fore tarsi have two segments (characteristic of genus)
pale, white to yellowish, with markings on wings
very hairy, especially on legs
long, slender "neck"
rear lobe of pronotum has two short projections on dorsal surface
See genus guide page for partial key to species (3 of 4). Range Southeastern United States--apparently fairly widespread. Blatchley (1) notes from Carolinas, Mississippi, Florida. Habitat Comes to lights to some extent. Often found near, or in, spider webs, presumably in search of prey:
Food Preys on spiders (Internet searches, comments on BugGuide images), and perhaps spider prey pirated from webs. Remarks Blatchley, p. 514 (1), has an excellent comment:
Uhler's remark regarding S. spiniventris (1884, 277) will well apply to the species at hand. Of it he wrote: "This is an extremely curious insect, built in the most intangible manner." The short, wide head, very large eyes, slender neck, lobes of pronotum so formed as to resemble a dumb-bell, and slender antennae and legs, densely clothed with long fine silky erect hairs, make a combination unique in our Heteropterous fauna.
Print References Blatchley (1) , pp. 514 - 515
Borror, entries for lani, pes (2)
Brimley, p. 71, apparently lists as Stenolemus hirtipes from Raleigh, NC, June (3)
Slater pp. 133-134--key, description (4)Internet References North Carolina State University Entomology Collection lists only lanipes, with 38 pinned, including specimens from that state
Bierle, et al., 2002. A Literature-based Key to Reduviidae (Heteroptera) of Florida ( PDF) gives a key to three Florida species, including lanipesWorks Cited | 4. | How to Know the True Bugs
By Slater, James A., and Baranowski, Richard M. | |
Contributed by Cotinis on 2 September, 2008 - 9:28pm Last updated 13 September, 2009 - 7:13pm |
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