
Wheel Bug - Arilus cristatus
*This shot shows a small, white egg that someone laid on this bug's back!
I was inspecting the milkweed pods when this bug surprised me. It was about 4 cm long! These bugs bite, and their bite is said to be more painful than a bee/wasp sting.
Habitat: Poised on milkweed; meadow

The wheel bug, in the family Reduviidae, is one of the largest terrestrial true bugs in North America, being up to 1.5 inches, or 38 mm, in length. A characteristic structure is the wheel-shaped pronotal armor.
Similar species: True Bugs
By Christine Young
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Uploaded Sep 21, 2021. Captured Sep 21, 2021 14:08 in 281 Main St S, Woodbury, CT 06798, USA.