Detailed information on Wheel Bug (Arilus cristatus)

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femailmailman

Mantua, NJ | March 2020 | Neutral

Although these wheel bugs supposedly eat garden pests. I don't want them around because of their bite!! Plus they are plain creepy looking... They infested a beautiful hibiscus I had, and a gorgeous Mandeville. I am not sure why, they had no pesky insect on them....also, we left our grill cover off, laying on our deck for several days. When I picked it up, to recover the grill - there were tons of them all in the folds of the cover! I freaked! Why would they be in there?

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AgentOK

Alva, OK | November 2015 | Neutral

The first time I saw this insect, I returned to my apartment in Northwest Oklahoma and found it crawling on a parking block. I had just been at a photo shoot so naturally I had to snap a few photos. I got pretty close, so after reading about the painful bite, I'm glad it didn't decide to have a snack!

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swede3151

Ocala, FL (Zone 9a) | June 2013 | Positive

This fella (or lady?) was on my flag pole around Aug of 2011. I haven't seen him/her since. It is a beneficial bug that eats gardens pests.

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Tunein116

Reston, VA (Zone 7a) | June 2013 | Neutral

Discovered this bug after it bit me on the arm! Confused it with a spider at first glance due to the bright red color. Apparently these Assassin Beetles are beneficial for controlling the pests in my newly grown garden, so perhaps I'll keep it around.

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lima471

Wilburton, OK | September 2012 | Neutral

I have a lot of these Wheelbugs this year, ranging from small to large. What I have noticed is that everywhere I find a Katydid, I find at least one Wheelbug. I have never seen them feed and I have been over-run by Katydids this season.

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lizzzard01

Irwin, PA | November 2010 | Neutral

i was sitting on my porch looking for something to do, and i saw this thing sitting on the wall (This was about a month ago). It is still sitting on the table outside after I zapped it to death. I'd say it is about 2 inches long. same bug as all of your pics. I called my friend over and he said it was an assassin beetle(I looked it up but it didnt look the same)? He also said it has the most painful bite in PA or something, but when I put it back on the zapper even after its dead and I zapped it, it starts walking around like some kind of frankenstein thing. I named it frank. please make some confirmation on all of these statements. thx.

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palaytiasdreams

Bennington, KS | June 2010 | Positive

I am so glad I found you guys. I was bit by something on my shoulder while in bed almost a week ago and thought it was a "frankskeeter" as the bite hurt! The next day it was sore, but not swollen and progressively got worse through the day.

Long story short, I'm on antibods. and keeping a warm compress on it.

Had my daughter not found one of these buggers climbing on the desk we'd have just thought it was a "frankenskeeter" This site helped to confirm it's not.

Thanks!

Pal...

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jmarsz

Rushville, IN | September 2008 | Neutral

I was just bitten by this creepy bug while working to frame my garage.
I flung it away and came back after rinsing the bite under cold water and applying much pressure beneathe the bite, as I had no idea what this thing was.
It is now in a ball jar and it is very mean looking.
I wanted to note that as I was capturing the bug and for a while in the jar, the end of his butt was red. he has stopped struggling and the butt is not red anymore.
After shaking him around a little, it appears that his butt turns back o red, or glows like the end of a cigarette.
The previous posts are right in that this bite hurts!
Thank you for identifying this thing.

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n3yqx

Bridgeville, PA | August 2008 | Neutral

We're just south of Pittsburgh, PA...Saw one of these bugs in the trash can on my porch and it had been kind of 'hanging out' for the past few days. It must have slowly made its way across my porch because my dog found it, needless to say the dog, Pete (who's only 13 weeks old) ended up with it in his mouth before I realized what he had. The bug bit his lip & it's now swollen about 3 times as big as it was before he was bitten. I had never seen one of these before and after I managed to get the thing off of Pete it ended up being flung into the grass. Took me 15 minutes to find it so I could get a good look at it to try and identify the type of bug it was...anyway, I ended up here. From everything I have read the bite just hurts like...well, you know what. If anyone has any suggestions abo... read more

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redmoran

Osage City, KS | July 2008 | Positive

Here in my part of the country(east central Kansas) we call it Assassin Bug. They certainly hunt down and destroy a lot of harmful insects, and possibly some beneficial ones also. Thankfully they don't go after us humans, because I have been bitten a few times in my life, and it is extremely painful, with a burning sensation similar to a wasp sting, but without the swelling that I experience with wasp and bee venom.

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SimbiDlo

Snyder, TX | September 2007 | Positive

Great to have in the garden, but it is a good idea to leave them alone, their bite HURTS like you know what, and this is from experience. I was bit on the tip of my finger and my entire hand felt on fire and went numb afterwards, I had mild swelling and pain for about three days afterwards and the little dot where it bit stayed for months!

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melody

Benton, KY (Zone 7a) | September 2006 | Positive

Pretty fierce looking, and downright scary, Wheel Bugs are one of the most intimidating insects in the garden. They look like something out of a 1950's horror movie, or a prehistoric jungle.

They are one of the Good Guys, eating other insects and preying on some of the most destructive inhabitants in the garden.

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jtr2888

Bethlehem, PA (Zone 6b) | August 2006 | Positive

This insect is a predator that eats other insects. I have a quite a few of them inhabiting my yard. They get fairly large, one to one and half inches or so.

The ones I have seen are grey/black with some brown on their wings. The nymph is bright red and black.

A Wheel Bug's mouth is like a syringe. It plunges it into its prey and eats kind of like a spider. I'm not an expert, this is just based off of what I've read and seen.

I don't mind them as they eat the Japanese Beetles that try to snack on my rose bush. I wouldn't pick them up. According to the insect guides I've checked, they will bite if harassed. I've never been bitten, but I have heard it’s like a bee sting.

In my experience they are not aggressive, and fairly ... read more

Wheel Bug

Ariluscristatus

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