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Photo#1487230
Attempted blood meal in a Chicago apartment, January 4. Captured January 22.
Copyright © 2018 alan molumby

Attempted blood meal in a Chicago apartment, January 4. Captured January 22.
Chicago, Cook County, Illinois, USA
January 22, 2018
Size: 1.7 cm
I felt a bite on Jan 4, woke suddenly at appx 2 AM..i doubt the creature had time to imbibe any blood, but there was a bite (collar bone, not painful), the next day. I finally found it weeks later. The abdomen is entirely black as far as i can see. It delivered an impressive defensive bite upon capture.
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Contributed by alan molumby on 26 January, 2018 - 11:20am
Last updated 10 June, 2018 - 9:57am

Frassed
Moved from ID Request.
… Will Chatfield-Taylor, 10 June, 2018 - 9:57am login or register to post comments

Always be cautious
I doubt this hemipteran was after your blood.

I think it is an assassin bug (Reduviidae). A few assassins do feed on vertebrate blood, but I highly doubt this is one of them. The shape is just incorrect, and it has the arms of an insect-feeder, not a haematophage.

More likely, this happened:

You wake up and either the assassin bites you from self defense, or some mosquito does and you blame the assassin. Did you see the assassin bite you on Jan 4?

Upon capture “weeks later”, you violently capture it, scaring it enough to cause another attack.


Cheers, and good luck with the ID
… C, 26 January, 2018 - 1:10pm login or register to post comments

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