Posts Tagged: Zelus

Assassins in The Garden

A pollinator garden is a study in diversity--and of inclusion and exclusion. The residents, the immigrants, the fly-bys, the crawlers, the wigglers, the jumpers. The big, bad and bugly. The prey and the predators.  The vegetarians and...

Lying in Wait--An assassin bug, Zelus renardii, lies in wait on a Mexican sunflower, Tithonia. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Lying in Wait--An assassin bug, Zelus renardii, lies in wait on a Mexican sunflower, Tithonia. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Gotcha! An assassin bug, Zelus renardii, sucking the juices from prey. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Gotcha! An assassin bug, Zelus renardii, sucking the juices from prey. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Caught in the act! An assassin bug, Zelus renardii, stabbing a lady beetle, aka lady bug. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Caught in the act! An assassin bug, Zelus renardii, stabbing a lady beetle, aka lady bug. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Who's next? The assassin bug, Zelus renardii, appears to be looking at the camera after killing a lady beetle, aka ladybug. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Who's next? The assassin bug, Zelus renardii, appears to be looking at the camera after killing a lady beetle, aka ladybug. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

There's an Assassin in Your Garden

Ever seen assassination attempts in your garden? They are not pretty if you're the prey. Neither are the successful attempts. Take the Zelus renardii, aka the leafhopper assassin bug. They've been hanging out in our nectarine tree, cosmos,...

Can you find the nymph assassin bug on this Cleveland sage? This bug belongs to the genus Zelus. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Can you find the nymph assassin bug on this Cleveland sage? This bug belongs to the genus Zelus. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

A nymph assassin bug strikes a pose on Cleveland sage. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

A nymph assassin bug strikes a pose on Cleveland sage. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

This adult assassin bug, Zelus renardii, is ready to ambush prey on a double cosmos blossom. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

This adult assassin bug, Zelus renardii, is ready to ambush prey on a double cosmos blossom. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

This adult assassin bug lurks almost unnoticed on a Mexican sunflower, Tithonia. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

This adult assassin bug lurks almost unnoticed on a Mexican sunflower, Tithonia. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

The predator: the assassin bug. This one is lying in wait on a nectarine leaf. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

The predator: the assassin bug. This one is lying in wait on a nectarine leaf. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Gotcha! An assassin bug spears a male metallic sweat bee. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Gotcha! An assassin bug spears a male metallic sweat bee. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Assassins, Bugs and Beer

There I was, walking across the University of California, Davis, campus to the Environmental Sciences Building for an agricultural communicators' meeting: a notebook in my hand, cell phone in my pocket, and my trusty pocket camera strapped around my...

A fast-moving assassin bug spears a male metallic sweat bee. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

A fast-moving assassin bug spears a male metallic sweat bee. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Assassin bug paralyzes his prey. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Assassin bug paralyzes his prey. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Gotcha!

It wasn't much of a fight.The assassin bug scored a TKO.Here's what happened: an assassin bug ambushed a spotted cucumber beetle in the Häagen-Dazs Honey Bee Haven at the Harry H. Laidlaw Jr. Honey Bee Research Faciility on Bee Biology Road, UC...

Predator and the prey: Assassin bug (left) corners a pest, a spotted cucumber beetle. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Predator and the prey: Assassin bug (left) corners a pest, a spotted cucumber beetle. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Assassin bug stabs the spotted cucumber beetle. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Assassin bug stabs the spotted cucumber beetle. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Assassin bug wins. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Assassin bug wins. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Assassin bug dining on spotted cucumber beetle. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Assassin bug dining on spotted cucumber beetle.(Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Assassins in the Tidy Tips

If you see a patch of California native wildflowers known as "Tidy Tips,"  look closely. The yellow daisylike flower with white petals (Layia platyglossa) may yield a surprise visitor. You may see an assassin. An assassin bug. A member of the family...

Patch of Tidy Tips

PATCH OF TIDY TIPS, California native wildflower, planted on the UC Davis campus, behind the Laboratory Sciences Building. If you look closely in the patch, you'll see scores of insects, including honey bees, hover flies, mason bees, ladybugs--and assassin bugs. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Assassin Bug

ASSASSIN BUG, from the genus Zelus and family Reduviidae, waits for prey. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Sip of Nectar

ASSASSIN BUG appears to be sipping nectar from a tidy tip blossom for a quick burst of energy. It preys on small insects, such as aphids, crickets and leafhoppers. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

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