Rise of the BUGS!! Part 4 "The Gruesome Finale"

[ClaudioG]

I WISH so badly there werent so many appendages here, it takes eye away from the assassin bugs Rostrum.

NB!!! The only bug harmed in the making of Rise of the Bugs was this poor Sun beetle which got its guts sucked out. Yes..i totally meant to write that.

This info was taken from Wikipedia

Predatory Reduviidae (Assassin Bug) use the long rostrum to inject a lethal saliva that liquefies the insides of the prey, which are then sucked out. The saliva contains enzymes that predigest the tissues they swallow. This process is generally referred to as extra-oral digestion, or EOD. The saliva is commonly effective at killing prey substantially larger than the bug itself.

The legs of some Reduviidae have areas covered in tiny hairs that aid in holding onto their prey while they feed. Others, members of the subfamily Phymatinae in particular, have forelegs that resemble those of the praying mantis, and they catch and hold their prey in a similar way to mantis.

#1 The Assassin bugs rostrum is just next to the sun beetles leg near the centre

[bnnrcn]

Nice shot,thanks for the interesting information also but seeing such a thing makes me feel really bad,poor sun beetle

[IzzieK]

Very interesting story here...Oh well...in nature it is the survival of the fittest. Nice capture, Claudio -- very sharp and to the point too.

[deetheturk]

Great image Claudio,the assassin bug i watched on t.v, sucked the guts out of ants then stuck the body to himself(up to 20 at a time)then sat in the ants nest, who thought it was another ant,and he ate away whenever he got hungry,ingenious really

Brian from the Philippines has posted a few images

Cheers David

[Geoff F]

Very interesting real life shot.

[Wavelength]

Great image

[Stagecoach]

Love it Claudio, you certainly nailed the focus on the important bits here. I wonder if a slight bit of local dodging may help where the rostrum enters the beetle?

Grahame