This is a better picture of the same species, Zelus renardii, attacking a cotton bollworm.
It seemed the more I learned about my assassin and Chagas disease, the less I wanted to know, and the more afraid I became. Especially when I read they attack prey much larger than themselves, and I finally realized that he had tried to poison me and liquify my internal organs for food! OK, sorry for the melodrama, but that’s basically correct, and it certainly explains the shudder and weird “fight or flight” feeling that I got. I was at my doctor’s office for other reasons, and I mentioned this experience to him, and showed him my best picture, and he expressed concern and referred me to an infectious diseases specialist “just to be sure.”
The infectious diseases nurse did a double take on the phone when I mentioned the Assassin Bug, I don’t think she’d ever heard of this. (This was a large, major metropolitan hospital here in Austin by the way, the largest of our 3, privately owned, arguably the best.) The doctor seemed fascinated and listened to my story, and then asked if my liver was swollen or hurting (no). Really, I went there to get peace of mind and put this whole thing to rest, and I ended up telling him that all in all, I was feeling just fine, so he didn’t seem worried at all. However, he said it was a health hazard, and should be reported to the county health department, possibly the state health department. We parted ways and I thought the story was over. Well, this was before I researched Chagas Disease.