A few days ago we were talking about favorite (and not) insects and I decided, probably this is the one. And as this is my favorite, let's make it shine and bring as many pictures of it, as we can.
The first time I found this bug, I wasn't sure if I was taking a picture of a small sliver or some creature. I was looking at Lavender Thrift, an amazingly attractive blooming bush when I saw something behind the flower... I looked at this something through my lens and almost dropped it. It was a bug... but... oh my, I've never in my life seen anything like this.
Even though this creature was so small, I barely could see it even through a really strong lens. So I went back home, downloaded the pictures to the computer and... looked at them. I was looking at something absolutely unreal. Was it alien? Small toy? I was absolutely amazed and stunned. So this is how I met Jagged Ambush Bug.
Just to give you an impression of the size of this species - compare it to my fingernail... Right... It is smallllll... really small bug and it is not easy to spot (unless you know where to look).
During the next few weeks I almost always was able to find one or two of them preying on the Lavender Thrift bush where I spotted it the first time. But soon I learned a lot of them can be found on Hoary Alyssum flowers...
Ambush bugs use the same hunting strategy as flower crab spiders: they sit, motionless, in a flower, and wait for an insect to come near. Like many crab spiders, they are perfectly camouflaged, and some species may have the ability to change color to match their surroundings. When an unwitting insect approaches, the ambush bug quickly grabs its prey, delivers an injection of immobilizing and digestive fluid, then drinks the liquefying nutrients from the prey’s body. Unlike spiders, which have a pair of fangs, ambush bugs have their mouthparts arranged into a single strawlike (or knifelike!) beak. Ambush bugs often capture insects much bigger than themselves — bees, butterflies and moths, large flies, and more.
Isn't it a master of camouflage?
And this is quite simple why they like Hoary Alyssum so much. First - these flowers attract a lot of bees, moths and flies. Second - they are perfect to be an ambush. Their crowns help the bug hide itself and wait not being disturbed by anyone else.
Aren't they amazing creatures? They seem to be slow, but in fact they are not. They can move quite fast if they want, but they rarely do... Most of the time they are sitting motionless and waiting...
Can you imagine? They are waiting for some prey most of their life... I would call them kings of patience ;)
Pictures were taken in July 2020.
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