Encelia-farinosa

Guides

• Apiomerus flaviventris

  Yellow-bellied Bee Assassin, bee assassin bug

  Apiomerus flaviventris is a predatory assassin bug in the family Reduviidae, commonly known as the yellow-bellied bee assassin. This species is notable for its specialized feeding habits targeting bees and its remarkable use of plant-derived chemical defenses. Females collect resin from brittlebush (Encelia farinosa) and apply it to their eggs as a protective barrier against predation, particularly by ants. The species inhabits arid and semiarid regions of southwestern North America.

  assassin-bugbee-predatorresin-collectionchemical-defenseparental-carekleptoparasitismReduviidaeHarpactorinaeApiomerusHemipteraarid-habitatsouthwestern-North-AmericaEncelia-farinosabrittlebushegg-protectionant-defenseflower-ambush-predator