Post by ecooper on Aug 2, 2013 12:43:34 GMT -8
Yesterday I grabbed my sweep net and went out into the garden to mess around and see what I could collect. After a couple of sweeps through some bushy plants I looked in the net and saw what I first thought (with my lousy vision) was a mosquito or midge because of the size and the long spindly legs. But when I looked closer I realized that it was something I had never seen before... a thread-legged bug, a type of assassin bug (family Reduviidae).
According to Wygodzinsky (1966) the wide spread of their long thin mid and hind legs is a preadaptation to life on spider webs! Apparently many species are often found on webs where they feed on either other insects that become trapped, or the spiders themselves. This pretty little specimen was only 7mm (1/4 inch) long (not counting the legs).
Cheers,
EC
More information and photos: wp.me/p2wM8r-vo
Olympus OM-D E-M5; Zuiko 60mm micro 4/3 macro; manual exposure (F11 @ 1/200 sec); Olympus RF-11 ring flash (TTL mode); ISO 200
P8280316 sharp by ernie.cooper, on Flickr