As I discovered when researching these insects, Ambush Bug is also the name of a DC Comics character who wears a green suit and has two orange antennae. His nemesis is a living argyle sock, and he is portrayed sometimes as a villain, sometimes as a hero.
Ambush bugs, too, from a human perspective, can be seen as either heroes or villains. They are a subgroup of assassin bugs, a name that makes them sound dangerous. Unless you are an insect, there is nothing to worry about. Ambush bugs, like most organisms, are just trying to survive. They have unique hunting skills that set them apart from many others.
Some assassin bugs stalk their prey. An ambush bug, as the name implies, lies in wait for prey to happen by, then grabs it with its thick forelegs. It has a long, sharp, strawlike beak that it jabs into a soft area of its prey. Then it pumps a paralyzing venom and digestive enzymes into its victim. These enzymes liquify the cells of the prey. Once liquified, the ambush bug slurps up the soup through the same strawlike beak.
Ambush bugs are less than a half-inch long and come in a range of colors – yellow, green, tan, white or orange – that help then hide in plain sight on flowers and leaves. You might be excused for overlooking them, because they often look like a piece of dried vegetation. Their camouflaging colors help them blend in with flowers as they lie in wait for food such as flies and bees to venture close. Because they are generalist predators, they are not picky about which insects they attack. Even insects that are much larger than they are such as wasps, butterflies and bumblebees can become their next meal. Look for these bugs on yellow flowers such as black-eyed Susans, sunflowers and goldenrod. You might also see them on daisies or asters. They are slow movers, so they are easy to view or photograph once you spot one. Studies have shown that ambush bugs that wait on yellow flowers become more yellow over time.
The ambush bug has long, thick forelegs with teethlike structures designed for gripping. The teeth mesh into similar structures on the lower legs. Because of these gripping legs, an ambush bug can capture and hold onto prey 10 times larger than itself. Males often ride on top of the larger females, guarding them to keep other males away. Two bugs can work together to capture larger prey, though.
In the summer, a female lays masses of eggs on leaves and stems. She covers the eggs in a froth that hardens to protect them from predators and to keep them from drying out. Wingless nymphs hatch from the eggs. The nymphs look like the adults but smaller. They molt several times until they become full-sized, winged adults – darker in pigmentation when temperatures cool. Ambush bugs usually overwinter as adults; the eggs can overwinter too if temperatures are not too cold.
Adult ambush bugs have wings and can fly, but they are not good at it. Birds, rodents, spiders, praying mantises and even other ambush bugs eat these insects, especially when they are nymphs. People often consider ambush bugs to be beneficial insects because they feed on many insects that humans consider to be pesky, and some claim ambush bugs make good pets because they do well in a terrarium. Since these insects bite, they should not be handled, though. This makes me dubious about just how good a pet an ambush bug might actually make. They are sometimes a hero, sometimes a villain.
Reader photo
In early September, Minerva Richards spotted this monarch butterfly in Wesley Chapel, Florida, a suburb of Tampa Bay.
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Jeanine Farley is an educational writer who has lived in the Boston area for more than 30 years. She enjoys taking photos of our urban wild things.
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