REDUVIIDAE ASSASSIN BUGS FAUNA PARAGUAY

Thanks to Dimitri Forero and Jose Manual Ayala Lande 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.

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.

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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 - Unidentified sp. (Subfamily Ectrochodiinae), Encarnación, Departamento Itapúa (Paul Smith March 2010).
FIGURE 1g - Zelurus sp. (Subfamily Reduviinae), PN Tte Enciso, Departamento Boquerón (Paul Smith October 2008).
FIGURE 1h - Zelurus sp. (Subfamily Reduviinae), Estancia Laguna Blanca, Departamento San Pedro (Paul Smith October 2008).
FIGURE 1i - Zelurus sp. (Subfamily Reduviinae), Estancia Laguna Blanca, Departamento San Pedro (Paul Smith December 2009).
FIGURE 1j - Unidentified sp. (Subfamily Reduviinae), Ayolas, Departamento Misiones (Paul Smith October 2009).
FIGURE 1k - Zelurus sp. (Subfamily Reduviinae), Estancia Laguna Blanca, Departamento San Pedro (Paul Smith February 2010).

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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 2d - Triatoma sp. (Subfamily Triatominae), PN Tte Enciso, Departamento Boquerón (Paul Smith April 2011).
FIGURE 2e - Panstrongylus guentheri. (Subfamily Triatominae), Madrejón, Departamento Boquerón (Paul Smith September 2011).

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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).

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FIGURE 4h