That was dumb (almost)

Williamwisephoto Nature Notes is a wildlife, landscape, birding and nature photography blog documenting the beauty, design and wonder of God’s creation. "Great are the works of the LORD, studied by all who delight in them. Full of splendor and majesty is His work." Psalms 111:2

The wheel bug, Arilus cristatus, is a species of large assassin bug with a wheel shaped pronotal armor common in eastern North America. Often mistaken for a stink bug or kissing bug which can carry the deadly Chagas disease.

Some people think I’m dumb, but I’m just that kind of person. When there is something cool looking out in nature, I’m going to mess with it, examine it, photograph it and identify it. A coworker pointed out this strange looking insect crawling up the window screen and so I had to check it out. As it was crawling on my hand and I was shooting it with my macro lens, she began reading from the internet…

“The deadly Kissing Bug has been confirmed in Georgia. This bloodsucking parasite carries an inflammatory infectious disease. Chagas disease is transmitted to humans by the bug, which typically bites people in the face around the area of the mouth, causing fever, fatigue, headache and in some severe cases, stroke or heart failure.” Great! That was dumb! I didn’t kiss him, but probably shouldn’t have had him on my finger either!

The wheel bug, Arilus cristatus, is a species of large assassin bug with a wheel shaped pronotal armor common in eastern North America. Often mistaken for a stink bug or kissing bug which can carry the deadly Chagas disease.

I finished my photo session with the little killer and brought the jpegs back to my computer for closer examination. As I began to research the spikey circular-saw-looking crest on his back, I soon found he wasn’t a Kissing Bug at all, but a harmless Wheel Bug in the same family.

Dummy me: I should have known it was a false alarm. Working with animals and wildlife my entire life, I’m fully aware that people are quite prone to dumb exaggerations when it comes to animal stories. “Once a dog gets the taste of blood he'll always be a killer"... “Cats will steal your breath when you’re sleeping”... “Its called a Coachwhip snake because it will wrap your feet, knock you down and whip you to death.” Dumb!  

Even in the case of the Kissing Bug, the stories are a bit blown out of proportion. Perhaps they are more of an issue in other places, but Chagas disease is quite a rarity in my area of the country. So, false alarm. But perhaps I should use some caution before making a dumb mistake and grabbing something truly deadly one day! ​

The wheel bug, Arilus cristatus, is a species of large assassin bug with a wheel shaped pronotal armor common in eastern North America. Often mistaken for a stink bug or kissing bug which can carry the deadly Chagas disease.