Masked Hunter Nymph
Scientific Name: Reduvius personatus
Order & Family: Order: Hemiptera, Family: Reduviidae (Assassin Bugs)
Size: Nymphs vary in size as they molt but generally range from 5 to 15 mm; adults reach up to 17-22 mm.
Natural Habitat
Often found indoors in dusty attics, basements, and crawlspaces, or outdoors in rocky crevices and woodpiles.
Diet & Feeding
Carnivorous predator; they feed on other insects such as bed bugs, earwigs, silverfish, and spiders.
Behavior Patterns
Nymphs possess a sticky coating on their bodies that accumulates dust, lint, and sand, effectively camouflaging them as balls of dust to ambush prey. They are solitary hunters.
Risks & Benefits
Generally beneficial as they eat household pests like bed bugs. However, if handled or provoked, they can inflict a very painful bite, though it is not venomous or medically significant to humans.
Identified on: 3/3/2026