Masked Hunter Nymph (often referred to as 'dust bunnies' when camouflaged)
Scientific Name: Reduvius personatus
Order & Family: Order: Hemiptera (True Bugs), Family: Reduviidae (Assassin Bugs)
Size: Generally 10-20 mm (approx. 0.4 to 0.8 inches) in length.
Natural Habitat
Found indoors in homes (attics, basements, dusty corners) and outdoors in hollow trees or woodpiles. They thrive in dry, dusty environments.
Diet & Feeding
Carnivorous predator. Feeds on other small arthropods including bed bugs, silverfish, woodlice, flies, and earwigs.
Behavior Patterns
Nymphs stick dust, lint, and sand grains to their sticky bodies as camouflage to ambush prey and avoid predators. They are ambush predators and move relatively slowly until striking.
Risks & Benefits
Benefits include natural pest control (they eat household pests like bed bugs). Risks include a painful bite if handled or threatened, comparable to a bee sting, though they do not transmit diseases and are generally not aggressive toward humans.
Identified on: 2/27/2026