The House Guest I Don't Want to See

I know that bugs live in my home. Nature takes over no matter how much we human beings try to subdue Her. But I still don't like to be reminded of it! Like when this little while fluffy creepy crawler made its way onto my black tiled floor.


It's a Reduvius personatus nymph, the Maked Hunter of the Assassin Bug family of beetles. This juvenile secretes a sticky substance onto which dust adheres, and in our case plaster dust. And I have to point out, wee bug, that white on black is not good camouflage!

Although they're "good" bugs, they still look nasty, the adults being black beetle looking versions of the nymph. They aren't venomous but can give a nasty bite if mishandled, so says the internet sources I stumbled across. Of course, that doesn't mean that I like the thought of these 2cm pals hanging out in my house, particularly near my son's toys in the basement.

I did get rid of an adult earlier in the summer, having thought it was a wayward visitor from the outside. As it turns out, they eat other bugs like arthropods and earwigs. We used to get earwigs in the house with the wet weather, but not now. So maybe these little Hunters are seeking wider range for their food... and maybe will die having not found any?