Bugshot

Wheel Bugs, Arilus cristatus
mating pair

I walk my trails often, looking for life.
Seeking that bug peering out from beneath a leaf or the spider hidden deep within her narrow tube of a funnel web.
Creeping along on my knees or chasing a setting sun before it slips over the edge of the world.
Sometimes the end result betrays its arduous capture.

And, then I stumble upon a pair of bugs.
So plainly displayed on the peeling white door of our little red shed—
as if holding a sign, “Please take our picture.”
These Wheel Bugs, in the morning sun of an autumn day, assure me there will be many to capture next year, as well.

Wheel bugs, Arilus cristatus, are one of the largest "true bugs" of North America, having sucking mouth parts and able to deliver a painful bite.
A great fixture for your garden; a great predator of other insect pests.

And the one bug I seem to run into everywhere!

For more Camera Critters, look here!

Steppin' out

It looks like a mass of tangled legs--12 in all, with 2 heads and 2 tails. Just hangin' out on a cedar shake as I came in the back door.
And right at eye level, ...how could I not look further?

I seem to encounter these very large true bugs a lot--wheel bugs, the largest of the assassin bug family, with cog-shaped dorsal armor and the slow, stalking movements that makes them good subjects for photos.
In this case, even slower--he's just stepped out of his too-tight hard outer covering and is getting used to his new skin.

The June beetles better look out now.
He means business, this hit-man in the steel gray suit.

Wheel Bug, adult

late instar Wheel Bug nymphs

Oh, my!

I head out to our trails after work each day.
Their winding takes me past woods, field and water—an escape into what often is peace and solitude.

But, in the thickness of summer, a lively hunting ground.
Where predators lurk as I pass.
And I’m thankful for my tall stature.


The gum grove holds a special treasure.
Here, in its star-shaped leaves, I found a wheel bug last year--his slow-moving steel gray form almost mechanical, as he stalked beetles.


This year, there will be many more.
From between the bright leaves, they watch me.


Late instars of the next generation. Peering down long faces with the same piercing, sucking mouthparts.
Stepping slowly forward on long, bent legs.
To see who walks beneath the gum tree.


In the field, a large jumping spider has caught a distracted cicada. Dropping from the small branch on his silk tether, to hide with his find in the tall grass.


Hoping I will not see where he has gone.
With eight shiny black eyes he watches.
Furry palps holding his very large dinner.

And at the pond’s edge, the most graceful amberwing,
another ferocious hunter, rests.


Before taking to the skies on wings of glass.

Thanks to Wigger's World for hosting Skywatch Friday each week at his site!

Beauty and the Beast

This coneflower is a new addition to my herb garden this year. The color is so rich--when the sun catches it, it glows!
Two-legged flying things are scarcely seen these days--it's all about six legs, now. Everywhere I look, in the middle of every leaf, coursing along every stem, ready to jump from every petal.


These bugs hatched a day ago from a collection of eggs on a gum leaf. From what I can tell, they're hemipterans of some sort--miniature versions of some adult bug. I can only imagine how many of this "litter" will actually survive to adulthood. They'll be someone's dinner--most likely a bird.


Where would we be without insects? Cleaning up the debris, catching our pests, feeding the birds.


This message was brought to you by Wheelbug-for-Hire.
"If they're buggin' you, we'll eat 'em."

One of the "good" guys

Here's a neat creature--posing so cooperatively for me on a gum tree leaf. He moves in slow motion--(which is wonderful for someone still learning to use the camera!) And as unfriendly as he appears, he seemed shy--more afraid of my long lens, than I of his long predatory beak.
He's a wheel bug, "one of the largest terrestrial true bugs in North America", about an inch and a half long, and among his favorite foods are Japanese Beetles.
He certainly must be having a good summer!
He's pretty interesting to look at up close--don't pick him up, though--nasty bite!! Reddish eyes, fine hairs on his legs, spiracles on the sides of his abdomen-- what are those tiny, shiny red dots behind his eyes? I'll have to find out!

Update: Ah ha! The wheel bug has a compound eye, with a simple eye (ocellus) behind it! Here's looking at you!