Holy Canoli! What IS That?

Here’s a flashback for you. So, there I sat on the pond bank, stalking the ever wary dragon fly and damsel fly (really, I am not picky, I’ll shoot whichever will light close enough and hold still long enough!), when I turned my head and spotted this guy on a leaf really close to my head. Moving slowly, so as not to scare it off (never had I seen anything resembling this critter), I turned and focused the camera. Voila! French is not my language, so ほら!すごい虫ですねえ。

Back_Forty_Summer2011_8711-WheelBug

Wheel Bug - Summer 2011 - Arilus Cristatus

Well, I just called it a prehistoric-looking bug, but my friend Travis did a Google Search and came up with the common name, scientific name, and an article about the beast. It turns out it is a “true bug,” something my Dad had tried to tell me about once – that there were insects that were truly bugs, and insects that were not – a member of the Assassin Bug family. And look there on its proboscis, a little assassinated insect from which it is presumably drinking the juices!

I was so excited to make a new (to me) discovery! And there were wheel bugs all around me, once I started looking. They are really quite a large insect, I don’t know how I never noticed them before. What an absorbing hour of shooting that was 🙂

3 comments on “Holy Canoli! What IS That?

  1. Ed says:

    WOW fantastic shot, I saw your comment on Mike powells blog and had to see your Assasin Bug pic..:-)

    Like

Leave a comment

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.