Can
you identify what's in this photo?
Each Wednesday morning
on Camp Lutherlyn's Facebook page
the Lutherlyn Environmental
Education Program posts a photo.
Readers
have all morning and afternoon
to
make their best guess about what the photo is.
Around
6 pm LEEP provides the answer and a brief explanation.
Each
week's What is it Wednesday post
will
also be posted on the Nature of Lutherlyn blog,
after it is posted on Facebook,
sometimes
with additional bonus information.
In
addition to bringing you current editions of What is it Wednesday
on the
Nature of Lutherlyn blog,
we
will be reposting old editions,
creating
a What is it Wednesday archive.
This
photo was posted as a What is it Wednesday on
July 8, 2020.
And
the answer is....
This is the nymph of Reduvius personatus, commonly known as
a masked hunter. This insect is a type of assassin bug, a member of the
hemoptera family, or “true bugs.”
The nymph (immature insect) of the masked hunter adds dust
and other particles to sticky hairs on its body, creating a layer of
camouflage. It has one layer of fine particles close to its body, and coarser
particles on longer hairs that create an outer layer. This effectively hides it
from both predators and prey.
Masked hunters and other assassin bugs eat other insects (including
bedbugs)! This makes them good garden helpers to have around, as they can help
control the population of pest insects. Some of them can also bite humans and
their bite can be painful, so it’s best to enjoy looking at them without
touching, but like most insects only bite when harmed or threatened.
One type of assassin bug, known as the kissing bug, has
gotten “internet famous” in recent years for its potential to carry Chagas
disease. Kissing bugs are mainly found in Mexico and Central and South America,
sometimes in southern U.S. states, and rarely in Pennsylvania. There are very
few instances of people being infected with Chagas disease in the U.S. The
common types of assassin bugs we find in Pennsylvania are not kissing bugs
(though they may have a somewhat similar appearance) and do not carry Chagas
disease.
Like and follow Camp Lutherlyn on
Facebook, to see What is it Wednesday posts when
they come out and have the opportunity to share your guesses in the comments!
