pale green assassin bug
(Zelus luridus)
Conservation • Description • Habitat • Biology • Distribution • Taxonomy
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Description |
Of the five Zelus species native to North America, Zelus luridus is the most common. Due to variation in body color, it has often been misidentified in the past as Zelus exsanguis. However, that species is very rare. With the exception of a single collected specimen, all sightings of Zelus exsanguis in the United States should probably be recorded as Zelus luridus. Pale green assassin bug is an elongated, nearly parallel-sided true bug. The body is ½″ to 11 ⁄16″ in length. Females, averaging ⅝″ long, are slightly larger than males, averaging 9 ⁄16″ long. The overall body color is usually pale green, the color of a Granny Smith apple, but may be yellowish-green, yellow, or reddish-brown. There is a spine at both rear (distal) corners of the pronotum. The head is elongated and has both large compound eyes and small simple eyes (ocelli). There is a transverse groove between the compound eyes. The protruding mouth part (beak) has 3 segments. It is short and curved. When at rest it is tucked into a groove between the forelegs. The antennae have 4 segments and are much longer than the head. The third leg segment (femur) on the forelegs is thickened. There is a band at the end of the femur that may be dark or red and conspicuous or barely visible. |
Size |
Total length: ½″ to 11 ⁄16″ |
Similar Species |
Habitat |
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Biology |
Season |
April to October |
Behavior |
When hunting, the adult smears a sticky substance, exuded from a gland on the tibia, onto small hairs on the tibia. It then probes flower parts with its legs and eats small insects that stick to the legs. The forelegs are also well adapted for grasping larger insects. |
Life Cycle |
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Nymph Food |
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Adult Food |
Small insects |
Distribution |
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Sources |
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| 8/9/2024 | ||
Occurrence |
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Common |
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Taxonomy |
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Order |
Hemiptera (true bugs, hoppers, aphids, and allies) |
Suborder |
Heteroptera (true bugs) |
Infraorder |
Cimicomorpha |
Superfamily |
Reduvioidea |
Family |
Reduviidae (assassin bugs) |
Subfamily |
Harpactorinae |
Tribe |
Harpactorini |
Genus |
Zelus |
Subordinate Taxa |
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Synonyms |
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Common Names |
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pale green assassin bug |
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Glossary
Beak
On plants: A comparatively short and stout, narrow or prolonged tip on a thickened organ, as on some fruits and seeds. On insects: The protruding mouthparts.
Femur
On insects and arachnids, the third, largest, most robust segment of the leg, coming immediately before the tibia. On humans, the thigh bone.
Ocellus
Simple eye; an eye with a single lens. Plural: ocelli.
Pronotum
The exoskeletal plate on the upper side of the first segment of the thorax of an insect.
Tibia
The fourth segment of an insect leg, after the femur and before the tarsus (foot). The fifth segment of a spider leg or palp. Plural: tibiae.
Visitor Photos |
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Molly and Robert Power |
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Found on one of our cherry bushes. I don't recall seeing a bug like this before! |
Alfredo Colon |
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Greg Watson |
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Luciearl |
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Found this unique insect on my porch screen in June. |
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Gerald Carlson |
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James Cronin |
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Scott Bemman |
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Holly Jessen |
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Spotted indoors, snacking on squished flies on a fly swatter. Released outside. |
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Bill Reynolds |
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While cutting the grass on my walking trails that wind through a forty acre woodlot, this little one hitched a ride on the hood on my JD Lawn tractor. |
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MinnesotaSeasons.com Photos |
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Slideshows |
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Visitor Videos |
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Other Videos |
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Assassin Bug (Reduviidae: Zelus luridus) Close-up |
About
Uploaded on Jun 21, 2011 Photographed at the Turtle River State Park, North Dakota (20 June 2011). |
pale green assassin bug (Zelus luridus) |
About
Published on Jun 3, 2015 |
Zelus luridus (?) North Carolina |
About
Published on Jan 5, 2016 |
Visitor Sightings |
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Molly and Robert Power |
Location: Albany, MN Found on one of our cherry bushes. I don't recall seeing a bug like this before! |
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Alfredo Colon |
Location: Albany, NY |
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Alfredo Colon |
Location: Albany, NY |
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Alfredo Colon |
Location: Albany, NY |
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Alfredo Colon |
Location: Albany, NY |
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Alfredo Colon |
Location: Albany, NY |
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Alfredo Colon |
Location: Albany, NY |
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Alfredo Colon |
Location: Albany, NY |
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| Greg Watson 6/6/2023 |
Location: Magelssen Bluff Park |
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| Alfredo Colon 8/19/2022 |
Location: Albany, NY |
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| Alfredo Colon 8/8/2022 |
Location: Albany, NY |
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| Alfredo Colon 8/6/2022 |
Location: Albany, NY |
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| Alfredo Colon 8/4/2022 |
Location: Albany, NY |
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| Betsy H. 7/24/2022 |
Location: St. Paul, MN Bit my arm; painful and itchy |
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| Alfredo Colon 6/7/2021 |
Location: Woodbury, MN |
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| Alfredo Colon 6/3/2021 |
Location: Woodbury, MN |
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| Alfredo Colon 6/2/2021 |
Location: Woodbury, MN |
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| Luciearl June 2021 |
Location: Cass County Found this unique insect on my porch screen in June. |
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| Alfredo Colon 5/30 to 6/1/2021 |
Location: Woodbury, MN |
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| James Cronin 10/29/2020 |
Location: Pelican Rapids |
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| Scott Bemman August 2020 |
Location: Baker Park Reserve |
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| Alfredo Colon 8/23/2019 |
Location: Woodbury, MN |
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| Alfredo Colon 8/15/2019 |
Location: Woodbury, MN |
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| Suzy W. 10/16/2018 |
Location: Minnetonka, MN A cute bug crawling across my desk at work, one I’d never seen before. |
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| Alfredo Colon 10/21/2017 |
Location: Woodbury, MN |
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| Bill Reynolds 6/26/2016 |
Location: Numedal Township, Pennington Co., MN While cutting the grass on my walking trails that wind through a forty acre woodlot, this little one hitched a ride on the hood on my JD Lawn tractor. |
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MinnesotaSeasons.com Sightings |
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Created: 6/27/2016 Last Updated: © MinnesotaSeasons.com. All rights reserved. |