You Can’t Unsee the Assassin Bug’s Dirty Work | Deep Look

Under the bright yellow petals of a tarweed plant, an insect known as the assassin bug kills its caterpillar victim by stabbing it over and over. But does this perpetrator have an accomplice? Sticky droplets all over the plant could be a clue.

---+ Why is an assassin bug called an assassin bug?
Likely because it impales its insect and arachnid victims with its pointy mouthparts.

---+ Is an assassin bug the same thing as a kissing bug?
No. Assassin bugs and kissing bugs are relatives, but they’re different from each other. They’re both part of a large family of insects called reduviids, known as the “assassin bug” family, hence part of the confusion. Kissing bugs and assassin bugs look similar to each other in that they have long mouthparts that they keep folded under their head when they’re not using them.

But they’re different from each other in their feeding habits. Assassin bugs, which are found around the world, live on plants and feed mainly on insects, for example, moth caterpillars and beetles and beetle larvae.

Kissing bugs make up a group of 150 species known as triatomines and found mainly in the Americas. Kissing bugs feed on the blood of humans, as well as that of many other domestic and wild mammals and birds. These insects can transmit a parasite through their feces that causes Chagas disease. The parasite, Trypanosoma cruzi, may live inside the body for many years without causing health problems, but it damages the heart and digestive systems of 20% to 30% of infected people and can be deadly.

Even though its feces can make you sick, the bite of a kissing bug is usually painless, since the parasite injects chemicals so that it can feed undisturbed for several minutes. But a kissing bug’s bite can sometimes cause anaphylaxis, a severe allergic reaction that leads to shortness of breath, shock and death, if left unattended. An assassin bug’s stab, if you’re unlucky enough to step on one or you pick one up by mistake, *will* hurt. And both assassin bug and kissing bug bites can be itchy.

---+ What are an assassin bug’s mouthparts called?
Assassin bugs’ mouthparts are often referred to as the rostrum or beak.

---+ Is there anything good about the assassin bug?
Yes! Assassin bugs can help control agricultural and garden pests.

---+ More great Deep Look episodes:

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This Killer Fungus Turns Flies into Zombies

Born Pregnant: Aphids Invade with an Onslaught of Clones

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#assassinbug #tarweed #deeplook

[brandonholmes]

The big caterpillar smacking the assassin bug away with it's head was brutal.

[thedontgotoofarskeleton]

I like how she's talking like a detective on a case for this one.

[afifruzaini]

I can tell Laura's grinning everytime she does it in character. 🤣

[MikeArts]

When I was 6 years old, I caught this animal with my fingers, and it stung my finger, more precisely under the nail.
Today I'm terrified of this insect 😖

[DavidCruickshank]

She strolled into my office like a warm summer breeze and I knew she would be trouble “you’ve got to help us detective, it’s the assassin bug, he killed my husband” I swore I would never return to the tarweed but paying jobs were hard enough to come by these days.

[powerONdelta]

The way she stays in character :o). I think this is my favorite episode of the show.

[KartikChauhan__KC]

I recommend this channel to my teacher and now she always make us watch at least 1 of these videos daily lol m loving it.

[eljh]

The tarweeds looks like a sundew close pretty interesting. Glad to know!

[josecarlosquintero]

Isn't it amazing how nature manages to create all kinds of symbiotic relationships with all kind of species? In this case, the tarweed plays the minefield whilst the assasin bug is the executioner/janitor to ensure tarweed's offspring survival.

[nicoleli]

"Just beneath the petals of this flower, a brutal murder is in progress"
Me:

[AurelianSkies]

Honestly I feel bad that most assassin bugs are always marked as "kissing bugs" and treated unfairly for it, when most of them have no interest in the blood of mammals.

[SerendipitousProvidence]

I remember this sucker quite well, thanks to Dragon Ball Z's iconic villain who goes by the name 'Cell' - I stumbled across the reference and that led me to this, not that holy creature.

[Sjalabais]

Laura's wild, deep voice is even more memorable than her usual sweet "come on, class, have a look at this"-vibe.

[arunabhganodwale]

So now we know... Laura is a part time Insect Detective.
Now we want more of her adventures. 😀

[cow_ears]

oh my god the Deep Look part of the whole thing including the narration is sooo amazing great job

[caydes]

I just love it when the caterpillar head butted the assassin bug

[ShaudaySmith]

This Noir Detective style narration is fantastic. Love the fun ya'll have.

[HHuo_bbbHUIP]

I love this content! It’s so interesting! Keep it up!

[m_drunk]

The voice affectation was hilarious. She doesn't even sound like the same person.

[zywvyxz]

So hard to pull off entertaining for both young and old, and this channel does it so well. This episode was a delight!