Assassin Bugs ?

[aclum]

Hi,

I came across a "clump'' of these bugs on some young asparagus fronds when I was clearing out the bed today. Most of them were bunched up touching each other but dispersed when I disturbed them for the photo. When I returned a while later they were all pretty much back in a clump.

I'm thinking these are young assassin bugs but not sure. Anyone know what they really are?

Thanks,
Anne

[ginger2778]

I am pretty sure they are assasin bugs too.

[AlittleSalt]

That's what they look like to me too.

[aclum]

Thanks!

Anne

[Worth1]

Back in the day before we all had computers I had an infestation of these critters on my plants.
I had no idea what on earth they were but I knew what a wheel bug AKA assassin bug was.
first time I had ever seen them young.
A goods friend of mine had given me a frigging huge old book on organic pest control.
Yes I was doing this back years ago.
I looked and there they were so I left them alone and they grew up to be Wheel bugs.
((DO NOT)) get bit by on of these critters just let them do their thing.
One of my tom cats got bit fooling around with one and his head and lips swole up and he foamed at the mouth and snotted for hours.
Yeowling all the time.
Poor baby.
Worth

[Tracydr]

They look so much like leaf footed bug babies but they're not,sine they don't have the big "leaf foot".

[aclum]

Hi Everyone,

I took another photo of the bugs this AM that gives a better view of the legs. After doing a bit of imagine searching on the web, I think Tracy was on the right track mentioning the leaf footed bug. I read that the larger feet don't develop until later in life and in the nymph, it almost looks like the knees are a bit larger rather than the feet. Also, it seems like there's a great variety in assassin bug nymphs and they generally seem to have more markings that the bugs I have.

Whatever they are, if I see them again, I'll attempt to get rid of them. (Maybe I'll use my hand held steamer on them - they seem sort of slow moving )!

Here are some photos...
First is today's photo of "my" bugs and then a couple of photos from google images leaf footed bug.

What do you all think?

Anne

[Worth1]

They have the tell tale leaf showing up on the hind legs.

Worth

[gdaddybill]

When you see a lot of true bugs together they are likely plant feeders. Assassin bugs are more solitary and have a larger proboscis--better for sucking body fluids as opposed to sap.

[b54red]

Hit them now with some Permethrin and soapy water while they are still bunched together and easy to kill. I had a hatch of them like that about a week ago and mixed up a little poison in a spray bottle and took care of them before they could spread out. They will sting your tomatoes and peppers leaving small bad spots on them when they ripen. I was overrun with them the last two years. After reading about using DE in a solution I used food grade DE mixed in very soapy water with some Permethrin and finally got the well under control and only had to use it twice during the whole season. Getting rid of them and stink bugs really improved the fruit quality last year for both tomatoes and peppers.

Bill

[aclum]

Hi Again,

Here's an update on things. Sorry it's so wordy (I got sort of caught up in reliving the experience ). Basically, I eventually got rid of the bugs, but not sure what exactly worked . I tried steaming, Monterey Insect GardenSpray with Spinosad, Neem oil and Dr. Bonner's Soap, and Windex with Ammonia . Here are the details:

Once I realized that I actually had leaf footed bugs rather than assassin bugs, I attempted to get rid of them using my little Gideon handheld steamer. I directed steam at each little clump of bugs and the jet of steam basically blew them off of the asparagus fronds (?). The steam exposure was so brief, I wasn't sure if I killed any or not, but coming back the next day (I believe it was last Wednesday), either they were back or a new batch had emerged. So I tried the steam again, this time approaching the bugs from the side with the steam and sweeping the spray from side to side like you might do when spray painting a flat surface. This time they didn't blow right off and got a good dose of steam before dropping off the plants.

The next morning (Thursday), I was planning to go out and hit any stragglers with some more steam. Although the number of bugs was drastically reduced, I discovered that they were starting to morph into adults ! (See attached photo). I didn't think I had time to heat the steamer - so I went looking for Bill's remedy but couldn't find anything with permethrin.

I did find some Monterey Garden Insect Spray with Spinosad, so I mixed up what seemed like a good ratio to water in a hand sprayer and sprayed the bugs with that.

Friday morning there were several clumps of bugs so I sprayed them with a mix of neem oil and Dr. Bonner's soap (since it didn't appear that the Monterey Spray had worked). That evening, I went out to check and there were STILL a few clumps of bugs so, basically in desperation and lacking other options, I sprayed them with some Windex Multipurpose Surface Cleaner with Ammonia we had on hand .

On Saturday I spotted just one nymph. And NO more bugs spotted since Sunday. So I consider them eradicated. Fortunately I haven't seen them elsewhere in the garden - and I'm not planning on using the asparagus bed for any veggies this year. If I encounter any of the leaf foot bugs in any food producing areas in the future, I'll no doubt use other techniques to eliminate them !

FWIW (probably not much ),
Anne