Other Common Names
Common Brown Assassin Bug, Spiny Assassin Bug, Crowned Assassin Bug
Synonyms and other taxonomic changes
Sinea diadema (
Fabricius, 1776)
Identification
Adults are brown colored, narrow, angular, and rough-bodied. The head, thorax (middle part) and front leg (upper portion) are covered with spines and the female's abdomen is wavy.
Season
Adults can be found from summer to fall
Food
As with other Assassin bugs, S. diadema is predaceous on a wide variety of small to medium-sized insects.
Life Cycle
The Entomological Society of America has a report on lab-raised S. diadema:
"It apparently overwinters as eggs. Nymphs emerged in mid-April and were found until mid-September. Adults were found from the third week of May until early October."
Print References
Borror, entry for
diadema (1)
Deyrup et al.,
Florida's Fabulous Insects, pages 60-61
(2)
Slater and Baranowski, p. 124, fig. 225 (
Sinea diadema), description of
Sinea spinipes (3)Internet References
University of Florida - has a literature based key to Assassin bugs (which can be downloaded as a pdf file)
Insects of Cedar Creek - has photos of adult specimens
The Entomological Society of America - has a summary on the life cycle of S. diadema
Ohio State University - has a fact sheet on Assassins, including S. diadema
