Wheel Bug Egg Mass

Scientific Name: Arilus cristatus

Order & Family: Hemiptera: Reduviidae

Size: Egg clusters are typically 1 to 2 inches (2.5 to 5 cm) wide, containing 10-160 hexagonal eggs

Wheel Bug Egg Mass

Natural Habitat

Gardens, orchards, and woodlands, often found on tree trunks, fence posts, or wooden structures

Diet & Feeding

As adults and nymphs, they are predatory, feeding on caterpillars, beetles, and other soft-bodied insects using a piercing-sucking proboscis

Behavior Patterns

Eggs are laid in late autumn and overwinter before hatching in the spring. Once hatched, they undergo incomplete metamorphosis with five nymphal stages before reaching adulthood

Risks & Benefits

Benefits: Highly beneficial as natural pest control in gardens. Risks: While not aggressive, they can deliver a very painful bite if handled, described as worse than a hornet sting

Identified on: 4/12/2026