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Alexander Dudley | all galleries >> Australian Invertebrates >> Insects >> Sucking Insects- True bugs > Assassin Bug (Reduviidae) with prey
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12-JUL-2004 Alexander Dudley

Assassin Bug (Reduviidae) with prey

Gurrumuru area, NT, Australia

There are a host of insect groups which feed on other insects, but taking on a paper wasp (Vespidae) is not for the faint-hearted
bugs of the world. This Assassin bug has somehow managed to subdue the wasp and is in the process of liquifying it's innards so it
can enjoy a wasp thick shake. One of the advantages of feeding on insects is that their juices are contained within the exoskeleton,
which means that the meal is not as messy as it might otherwise be. It certainly saves on napkins, in any case.

Having being stung by an assassin bug as a child I have a tremendous amount of respect for these creatures. Mind you, my
encounters with paper wasps were equally as painful.

FujiFilm FinePix S2 Pro ,Nikkor 60mm f/2.8D AF Micro
1/125s f/16.0 at 59.0mm iso100; Metz 20 BC6 full exif

other sizes: small medium large original auto
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