A few days ago, I noticed this strange-looking cluster of eggs on a leaf of my Indian hawthorne plant. The whole cluster was about the diameter of a lentil. I picked the leaf, put it in a jar and brought it into my kitchen, which is where all my high priority bug things end up, of course!
First thing this morning when I checked them, I saw they had hatched.
Eeee! Lots of tiny little assassin bugs! The white ones are the most recently hatched. The darker ones hatched first.
After the photo shoot, I released them back into the bushes.
OH that cluster of eggs is pretty cool looking...like beads...
ReplyDeleteeeeek, assassin bugs!!
really great shots!
It does look really cool but I am with Laura.....Eeeeeek!
ReplyDeleteSo what are assassin bugs? Who do they assassinate?
ReplyDeleteAssassin bugs are "true bugs" (order Hemiptera). They have piercing mouthparts, and where other Hemipterans use them to pierce and suck plant juices, assassin bugs suck the life out of other bugs! Here is assassin bug info on Wikipedia, and also on BugGuide.net.
DeleteNow what? Set them free and always wonder which species they were? Try to get tiny prey and raise a couple? I tried last year when our insect festival zoo left me with a litter, it's difficult and they are cannibals (which on the other hand makes it a little easier...)
ReplyDeleteyour camera takes some really great shots wow!! very cool
ReplyDelete