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Female Ambush Bug with Butterfly Prey
Live adult ambush bugs photographed at
Winfield IL. This ambush bug has captured a cabbage white
butterfly (Pieris
rapae) and is in the process of sucking out its
body fluids by means of its proboscis, or beak. Other types of
bugs use this organ for sucking plant juices, but not the ambush
bug. These stealthy critters sit very still on or near flowers,
their superb camouflage allowing them to remain undetected while
an unwitting butterfly or other unfortunate happens by to gather
nectar. They then seize their prey using front legs adapted for
the task - these legs resemble the front legs of the praying
mantis. It is a ferocious bug indeed that takes prey 2 or 3
times its own size! |
