Sticky-trap-predator

Guides

• Zelus longipes

  milkweed assassin bug, sundew assassin bug

  Zelus longipes is a medium-sized assassin bug (Reduviidae: Harpactorinae) distributed across the southern United States, Central America, and South America (excluding Chile). The species is notable for its bright red and black coloration and its unique prey-capture strategy using sticky secretions on the forelegs—an adaptation that inspired the common name "sundew assassin bug." It has been evaluated as a potential biocontrol agent for agricultural pests including fall armyworm (Spodoptera frugiperda), picture-winged flies (Ulidiidae), and Asian citrus psyllid (Diaphorina citri), though its generalist predatory habits and documented attacks on beneficial insects such as honey bees and parasitoid wasps complicate its practical application.

  assassin-bugReduviidaebiocontrolpredatormimicryagricultural-pest-controlmilkweed-communitysticky-trap-predatorHemipteraNeotropicalNorth-AmericaSouth-America

• Zelus renardii

  leaf hopper assassin bug, sundew assassin bug

  Zelus renardii is a medium to large assassin bug native to western North and Central America that has become a successful global invader. The species is diurnal and employs a distinctive predatory strategy using sticky secretions from glandular setae on its forelegs to capture prey, earning it the common name 'sundew assassin bug.' It has been introduced to the Mediterranean basin, Pacific islands, Hawaii, Chile, Argentina, and Easter Island, primarily through human-mediated transport of nursery plants. The species is considered for biological control of agricultural pests but its generalist predatory habits create complex trophic interactions.

  invasive-speciesbiological-controlsticky-trap-predatorgeneralist-predatorintraguild-predationHarpactorinaeNearctic-originMediterranean-expansionurban-adapteragricultural-predatorsemiochemical-communicationalarm-pheromone