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Species Zelus luridus

Zelus luridus With A (Small) Difference - Zelus luridus Zelus - Zelus luridus Assassin nymph? - Zelus luridus Assassin bug on leaf - Zelus luridus Zelus  - Zelus luridus Zelus luridus Assassin bug - Zelus luridus Zelus luridus
Classification
Kingdom Animalia (Animals)
Phylum Arthropoda (Arthropods)
Subphylum Hexapoda (Hexapods)
Class Insecta (Insects)
Order Hemiptera (True Bugs, Cicadas, Hoppers, Aphids and Allies)
Suborder Heteroptera (True Bugs)
Infraorder Cimicomorpha
Family Reduviidae (Assassin Bugs)
Subfamily Harpactorinae
Tribe Harpactorini
Genus Zelus
Species luridus (Zelus luridus)
Synonyms and other taxonomic changes
erroneously treated under the name Z. exsanguis in(1)
Explanation of Names
Zelus luridus Stål 1862
luridus 'sallow, ghastly'
Size
12.4-18 mm(2)
Identification

The base color of Z. luridus is apple green, and markings on the back may be very dark or rather light. The legs sometimes have dark or red bands on the distal ends of the femurs, but these can often be so light as to be almost invisible. When I've seen mating pairs, the males tend to be the darker ones, with the more pronounced red leg bands. The best feature for recognition is the pair of delicate spines on the rear corners of the pronotum, which are rather long on the light colored individuals and shorter on the dark. (3)
Some specimens are quite brown:
Range
e NA to Rockies (QC-FL to MB-WY-se.AZ); Mexico(2)
Life Cycle
1. Eggs. 2. Newly hatched nymphs. 3. First instar nymphs. 4. Older nymph. 5. Adult


The final molt to adult (photo series):
Remarks
The most common Zelus in the east
Works Cited
1.How to Know the True Bugs
Slater, James A., and Baranowski, Richard M. 1978. Wm. C. Brown Company.
2.Genus Zelus Fabricius in the United States, Canada, and Northern Mexico (Hemiptera: Reduviidae)
Hart E.R. 1986. Ann. Ent. Soc. Am. 79: 535-548.
3.Austin bug collection