The Other Side of Lying in Wait

November 11, 2014November 11, 2014 • michaelmarlow

An ambush bug lies on its underside after having a wasp meal.

I caught this bug in the midst of some goldenrod finishing off a parasitic wasp for lunch — at least I hope it was finished and I didn’t scare it off its meal. I will say it seemed rather nonplussed after it gave up the wasp, which is when I took this “lazy” shot.

P.s. This shot is uncropped; just a little layer editing to tamp down some of the highlights.

4 thoughts on “The Other Side of Lying in Wait”

Victor Rakmil says:

November 11, 2014 at 3:07 pm

Great shot of a great bug.

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1. michaelmarlow says:
  
  November 11, 2014 at 5:44 pm
  
  Thanks, Victor. These are very cool bugs, and perhaps some of the more reliable subjects in the Northeast the past few years. An ambush bug (or two or three) seems to pop up sooner or later.
  
  On Tue, Nov 11, 2014 at 3:07 PM, BugPhoto.net wrote:
  
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David says:

November 11, 2014 at 11:26 pm

I don’t recall having ever seen or even heard of this bug before. Fascinating looking bug and a very nice photo.

Reply
1. michaelmarlow says:
  
  November 12, 2014 at 7:20 am
  
  Thanks! They are pretty interesting predators in the family Reduviidae, the Assassin bugs. The ambush bugs feature those raptorial, mantis-like arms and they do blend in quite well with flowers to sneak up on their prey.
  
  Reply