Masked Hunter Nymph (Camouflaged)
Scientific Name: Reduvius personatus
Order & Family: Order: Hemiptera (True Bugs); Family: Reduviidae (Assassin Bugs)
Size: Nymphs vary from 3-15 mm depending on their developmental stage; adults are about 17-22 mm.
Natural Habitat
Typically found indoors in dust-prone areas like basements, attics, and underneath furniture. Outdoors they inhabit dry locations with loose soil or sand.
Diet & Feeding
They are generalist predators that feed on bed bugs, silverfish, woodlice, earwigs, and other small household arthropods.
Behavior Patterns
The nymphs have a sticky exoskeleton that accumulates dust, lint, and debris, serving as effective camouflage against predators and prey. They are solitary and ambush predators.
Risks & Benefits
Generally beneficial as they eat household pests (including bed bugs). However, they can inflict a very painful bite if handled or threatened, comparable to a bee sting, though it is not medically significant.
Identified on: 2/19/2026