Orange Assassin Bug - Gminatus australis
Family Reduviidae
This page contains pictures and information about Orange Assassin Bugs that we found in the Brisbane area, Queensland, Australia.
- Body length 15mm
- This assassin bugs look similar to the Common Assassin Bugs but the body colours are different. The body are orange red in colour with black legs and black wings. There are a number of tubercles on pronotum. Legs are slender and weakly constricted. The abdomen bottom is white in colour.
- Later in early summer we found a pair of the Red Assassin Bugs wandering near a Stingless Bee nest. They seem looking for chances to hunt some bees.
- They two assassin bugs flied actively around the bee nest in the tree trunk. Sometimes rested on the tree trunk. Sometimes rested on the plants in front of the bee nest. We watched them for about half an hour but they did not catch any. It could be because of our interruption.
- The two assassin bugs looked the same, one with slender body. They could be one male and one female.
- Quite often we found this assassin bug hunts in small group. They fly actively between leaves looking for prey.
- Reference:
- 1. Wildlife of Tropical North Queensland - Queensland Museum Publications 2000, p91.
- 2. Insects of Australia - Hangay, George, & German, Pavel, Reed New Holland, 2000, p63.
- 3. The generic classification of the Australian Harpactorinae (Hemiptera: Reduviidae) - Malipatil, M.B. 1991. Invertebrate Taxonomy 4: 935-971.
