Thanks to Dimitri Forero for identifying the images in this gallery.
Designed by Paul Smith 2006. This website is copyrighted by law.
Material contained herewith may not be used without the prior written permission of FAUNA Paraguay.
Photographs on this page were taken by Paul Smith, Pier Caccialli, Jeni Oborn, David Gill, Ivan Saxby, Alberto Esquivel, Laura Tensen, Moriz Stiefel and Lucy McLaughlin and are used with their permission.
http://www.faunaparaguay.com/index.html
http://www.faunaparaguay.com/aims.html
http://www.faunaparaguay.com/about_paraguay.html
http://www.faunaparaguay.com/wildlife.html
http://www.faunaparaguay.com/publications.html
http://www.faunaparaguay.com/mini_guides.html
http://www.faunaparaguay.com/tours.html
http://www.faunaparaguay.com/volunteer.html
http://www.faunaparaguay.com/library.html
http://www.faunaparaguay.com/museum.html
http://www.faunaparaguay.com/partners.html
http://www.faunaparaguay.com/contact.html
FAMILY REDUVIIDAE: ASSASSIN BUGS
Assassin Bugs constitute over 5000 worldwide species of predatory or blood-sucking bugs. Colouration varies from dull and cryptic to bright and aposematic, and body shape varies from robust to thin and thread-like. Many species are hairy or spiny and some possess strange body flanges. The head is small, often elongated and bears four-segmented antennae. The rostrum is stout, curved and consists of three segments. In many species sounds can be produced by scraping the rostrum along a medial, ridged groove on the underside of the thorax. Reduviids are fierce predators capable of subduing insect prey much larger than themselves. Victims are impaled with the rostrum via a weak point in the cuticle and a paralysing, tissue-dissolving saliva is injected. The front legs often possess spines, adhesive hairs or thickening to assist with subduing prey. Blood-feeding species such as the Cone-nosed Bugs (called Binchucas in Paraguay) in the subfamily Triatominae are vectors for protozoan parasites that may cause disease in humans - notably Chaga´s Disease which, despite the wide distribution of its vector, is only locally distributed in Paraguay in the northern Orient.
Click on the images to enlarge them.
FIGURE 1a

FIGURE 1a
FIGURE 1b

FIGURE 1b
FIGURE 1c

FIGURE 1c
FIGURE 1e

FIGURE 1e
FIGURE 1f

FIGURE 1f
FIGURE 1g

FIGURE 1g
FIGURE 1h

FIGURE 1h
FIGURE 1i

FIGURE 1i
FIGURE 1j

FIGURE 1j
FIGURE 1k

FIGURE 1k
Gallery 3 - Subfamily Harpactorinae Adults
FIGURE 3a - Apiomerus sp., PROCOSARA, PN San Rafael (Paul Smith November 2007).
FIGURE 3b - Apiomerus sp., PROCOSARA, PN San Rafael (Ivan Saxby February 2008).
FIGURE 3c - Apiomerus sp., PROCOSARA, PN San Rafael (Pier Cacciali April 2008).
FIGURE 3d - Apiomerus sp., Itabó Itaipú Reserve, Departamento Alto Paraná (Paul Smith October 2008).
FIGURE 3e - Wheel Bug Arilus sp. (Subfamily Harpactorinae, Tribe Harpactorini), PROCOSARA, PN San Rafael (Alberto Esquivel undated).
FIGURE 3f - Wheel Bug Arilus sp. (Subfamily Harpactorinae, Tribe Harpactorini), PROCOSARA, PN San Rafael (Jeni Oborn May 2008).
FIGURE 3g - Repipta sp. (Subfamily Harpactorinae), PROCOSARA, PN San Rafael (Pier Cacciali April 2008).
FIGURE 3h - Repipta sp. (Subfamily Harpactorinae), PROCOSARA, PN San Rafael (Pier Cacciali June 2008).
FIGURE 3i - Ricolla sp. (Subfamily Harpactorinae), PROCOSARA, PN San Rafael (Moriz Stiefel April 2008).
FIGURE 3j - Zelus sp. (Subfamily Harpactorinae) PROCOSARA, PN San Rafael (Pier Cacciali April 2008).
FIGURE 3k - Unidentified sp. (Subfamily Reduviinae), Estancia Laguna Blanca, Departamento San Pedro (Paul Smith February 2010).
Gallery 1: Subfamilies Ectrochodiinae and Reduviinae
FIGURE 1a - Brontostoma sp. (Subfamily Ectrochodiinae), PROCOSARA, PN San Rafael (Alberto Esquivel November 2007).
FIGURE 1b - Brontostoma affinis discus (Subfamily Ectrochodiinae), PROCOSARA, PN San Rafael (Moriz Stiefel March 2008).
FIGURE 1c - Brontostoma sp. (Subfamily Ectrochodiinae), Estancia Laguna Blanca, Departamento San Pedro (Paul Smith October 2008).
FIGURE 1d - Zelurus sp. (Subfamily Reduviinae), Estancia Laguna Blanca, Departamento San Pedro (Paul Smith October 2008).
FIGURE 1e - Unidentified sp. (Subfamily Ectrochodiinae), Estancia Laguna Blanca, Departamento San Pedro (Paul Smith February 2010).
FIGURE 1f - Zelurus sp. (Subfamily Reduviinae), PN Tte Enciso, Departamento Boquerón (Paul Smith October 2008).
FIGURE 1g - Zelurus sp. (Subfamily Reduviinae), Estancia Laguna Blanca, Departamento San Pedro (Paul Smith October 2008).
FIGURE 1h - Zelurus sp. (Subfamily Reduviinae), Estancia Laguna Blanca, Departamento San Pedro (Paul Smith December 2009).
FIGURE 1i - Unidentified sp. (Subfamily Reduviinae), Ayolas, Departamento Misiones (Paul Smith October 2009).
FIGURE 1j - Zelurus sp. (Subfamily Reduviinae), Estancia Laguna Blanca, Departamento San Pedro (Paul Smith February 2010).
FIGURE 2a

FIGURE 2a
FIGURE 2b

FIGURE 2b
FIGURE 2c

FIGURE 2c
Gallery 2: Subfamilies Stenopodinae and Triatominae
FIGURE 2a - Stenopoda sp. (Subfamily Stenopodinae), Estancia Laguna Blanca, Departamento San Pedro (Paul Smith October 2008).
FIGURE 2b - Stenopoda sp. (Subfamily Stenopodinae), Itabó Itaipú Reserve, Departamento Alto Paraná (Paul Smith November 2008).
FIGURE 2c - Triatoma sp. (Subfamily Triatominae), PN Tte Enciso, Departamento Boquerón (Paul Smith October 2007).
FIGURE 3a

FIGURE 3a
FIGURE 3b

FIGURE 3b
FIGURE 3c

FIGURE 3c
FIGURE 3d

FIGURE 3d
FIGURE 3e

FIGURE 3e
FIGURE 3f

FIGURE 3f
FIGURE 3g

FIGURE 3g
FIGURE 3h

FIGURE 3h
FIGURE 3i

FIGURE 3i
FIGURE 3j

FIGURE 3j
FIGURE 3k

FIGURE 3k
Gallery 4 - Subfamily Harpactorinae Nymphs
FIGURE 4a - Apiomerus sp., PROCOSARA, PN San Rafael (Jeni Oborn June 2008).
FIGURE 4b - Arilus sp., Itabó Itaipú Reserve, Departamento Alto Paraná (Paul Smith November 2008).
FIGURE 4c - Harpactor angulosus nymph, PROCOSARA, PN San Rafael (Laura Tensen February 2008).
FIGURE 4d - Harpactor angulosus recently emerged adult, PROCOSARA, PN San Rafael (David Gill March 2008).
FIGURE 4e -  Harpactor angulosus nymph, PROCOSARA, PN San Rafael (Moriz Stiefel March 2008).
FIGURE 4f - Harpactor sp. nymph, PROCOSARA, PN San Rafael (Laura Tensen February 2008).
FIGURE 4g - Unidentified sp. nymph, PROCOSARA, PN San Rafael (Lucy McLaughlin March 2008).
FIGURE 4h -  Unidentified sp. nymph, PROCOSARA, PN San Rafael (David Gill March 2008).
FIGURE 4a

FIGURE 4a
FIGURE 4b

FIGURE 4b
FIGURE 4c

FIGURE 4c
FIGURE 4d

FIGURE 4d
FIGURE 4e

FIGURE 4e
FIGURE 4f

FIGURE 4f
FIGURE 4g

FIGURE 4g
FIGURE 4h

FIGURE 4h