Range of Arilus cristatus (wheel bug--Reduviidae) in Illinois?

Arilus cristatus

I was reading through the General Discussions Forum and thought I would contribute a little from my personal observation. I live in Northeastern Indiana and last fall I found a pair of mating "wheel bugs". I was really surprised to see them because I had only seen them in Alabama during a visit to that state several years ago. I don't think they are normally found this far north. I was really excited about my find. I showed them to my son who took a picture of them. Then he came home from his Dad's with a female. Do you suppose that because of those terrible hurricanes they could have been transported on the wind currents? Just a thought. Anyway, I kept them for a while to watch them, then turned them loose. They stayed around until the first hard frost, then I'm sure they died. This spring I found 15 just hatched nymphs. Bright red abdomen with black head, thorax and legs. They stayed on the original leaf for about 3 days then started to wander to other plants. Horseweed, wild rose, wild grape, black raspberry, pokeweed, swamp milkweed and any other plant in search of prey. I have watched them all summer through all their sheds and saw them eating a large varity of insects. They now appear to be adults because they have developed their namesake, The "wheel". I didn't mean to run on, but I am just thrilled about finding and being able to observe these interesting insects and wanted to share my experience with other "buggers". felines

… Gloria Bolinger, 24 August, 2006 - 12:47pm

Wheel bugs

There's a ton of great info on our guide page.

From what I've seen they don't seem to spread out much, so when you find one you'll probably find several others nearby. Late summer and fall might be better times to find them, as the full-sized adults will be much more conspicuous. You may want to avoid areas that are intensively managed (mowed, sprayed, pruned, etc.) since there will likely be less food available for them.

… Jay Barnes, 1 August, 2006 - 12:51pm

Thank you! I cant find any in

Thank you! I cant find any info on range in Illinois though! The range description is vague and there are no references to habitat preferance. Any ideas/thoughts in that department? Do they like a certain tree? Certain temp? Im just needing to narrow down my search, thats all. Any help would be appreciated!

Do they prefer to stay low in trees, or high up where not visible? Do they like flowers? Ugh, so many questions, so little time.

… Steve-o, 3 August, 2006 - 11:58am

Finding them

In the absense of any detailed range data for Illinois, you might do well to just study the images here in the guide and observe the habitats they are photographed in, then look for similar habitats nearby. Unmanaged prairie/scrub in a wildlife area, or a large park containing plenty of native plants would be good places to search.

I'm sure they spend some time in trees eating caterpillars, but they are generalist predators and could be found on any plant with easy prey.

I think this is the only Illinois record on BugGuide for Wheel Bugs:

… Jay Barnes, 4 August, 2006 - 12:30am

Range, habitat

Seems like at least parts of Illinois should be in their range, but that sort of detail is hard to come by for many insects, other than butterflies. This reference mentions them being found in southern Illinois.

I usually see Wheel Bugs hanging around in flowering herbs or shrubs near woodlands. I've also seen them come to lights, preying on the moths, and I've even seen them hanging around a cafeteria porch, dining on stunned horseflies that hit the large windows.

… Cotinis, 3 August, 2006 - 10:35pm

Thank you all for the help! I

Thank you all for the help! I really appreciate it! I am going again today after work to find one. I have been very unsuccessful thus far, maybe my luck will change. All I find are Zelus spp and theyre only nymphs, no adults to photograph. Thanks again!

… Steve-o, 4 August, 2006 - 9:43am