Stats

Lifespan: About 1 yr
Size: Small
Diet: Insectivore
Activity: Diurnal
Social: Solitary
Biome: Temperate forest
Range: North America
Movement: Walking
Breeding: Egg-laying
Defense: Camouflage
Status: Common

About

A slender predatory true bug found throughout eastern North America that ambushes caterpillars, aphids, and other insects by stabbing them with its curved beak and injecting paralytic saliva. Its legs are covered in sticky hairs that help it snag prey mid-air.

Life cycle

1.
egg
A small egg is laid on or near the larval food source and hatches within days or weeks.
2.
juvenile
An immature insect feeds and molts, growing through successive instars.
3.
subadult
A near-adult insect has wing buds or near-mature form, one molt away from full size.
4.
adult
Fully grown, with full wings and adult coloration.

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Taxonomy

Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Arthropoda
Class: Insecta
Order: Hemiptera
Family: Reduviidae
Genus: Zelus
Species: Zelus luridus