Flower Assassin

A medium sized and very conspicuous ambush predator form the order Hemiptera (True Bugs). Assassin bugs are robustly built and prey on other arthropods using a powerful recurve beak or Rostrum, that they keep sharp at the tip by rubbing on a ridged groove under the body that often produces a sound. The Flower Assassin is a colourful critter with the red thorax and yellow and black srtipped margins of the thorax. It hunts for prey in expossed sunny areas on plants and flowers and often takes bees and shield bugs. The bright colours are warnings amoung its kind to predators as it can use its beak to inflict a powereful bite to defend itself. In humans the bite is painful resulting in numbness, general welts and nasuea (usually from shock). Anit acid like bicarbonate of soda as a paste can releive symptoms which can last for months afterwards. Until recently it was thought the same venom saliva used to liquify the innards of its prey is also used in defence. However it has been found that two venom production sites exist. The 'hunting venom' is produced in the anterior main gland. The 'defence venom' is produced behind it in the posterior main gland. These glands plus a third auxillary gland all feed into a structure called the hilus, described as a set of muscle-controlled mixing chambers. The defence venom had no effect on small prey animals but caused alot of pain in larger animals. https://cosmosmagazine.com/biology/when-it-comes-to-venom-assassin-bugs…