assassinbug
James Johnson and Arthropods
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10/14/07
Chapter 9
Filed under: General
Posted by: James @ 5:39 pm

After nearly two years of waiting and watching, I finally have collected a healthy mature specimen of my assassin bug, again from my back yard.  My assassin bug traps didn’t work, he just buzzed by me while I was starting the BBQ, and paused on the side of my house long enough for me to retrieve my collection jar and catch it.  Similar in size and structure to my friend that bit me way back and started this whole saga, this one is reddish-orange instead of greenish.  October seems to be a dangerous month for my back yard!  Sorry to say, this one’s got to go to the health department for analysis for Trypanosoma cruzi, the parasite that causes Chagas’ Disease.

Once captured, I was able to take a few pictures, here are the two best:

This one was just about an inch long.  Note the formidable mouth parts designed for injection and sucking.  Sheesh.

Perhaps now I can get some closure on this little drama in my life.

Thanks for stopping in!

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