wheel bug right? Don't those things bite/stab/injure with their mouthparts?
ChrisT
Nov 21, 2003 2:16 PM
Wheelbugs do indeed use thier mouthparts to stab predators when mis-handled, and it's reputed to be quite painful. Like thier relatives, the Assassin Bugs, they're predatory, feeding on caterpillars & other insect larva, as well as other small insects, seizing them with thier forelegs and piercing the victim with thier mouthparts to inject a venom/digestive agent that liquifies the internal organs, which the Bug then drinks through the mouthparts like a straw.
