Masked Hunter Nymph (Camouflaged state)
Scientific Name: Reduvius personatus
Order & Family: Hemiptera (True Bugs), Family Reduviidae (Assassin Bugs)
Size: 10-15 mm (0.4-0.6 inches) long, appearing larger due to dust camouflage.
Natural Habitat
Often found indoors in dry, dusty locations like attics, basements, and behind furniture; also found outdoors in hollow trees and overhangs.
Diet & Feeding
Strict predators that feed on bed bugs, earwigs, silverfish, and other small household arthropods.
Behavior Patterns
Nymphs stick dust, lint, and debris to their bodies as camouflage to ambush prey and avoid detection. This sticky coating makes them look like a walking ball of fluff or debris.
Risks & Benefits
Benefits: Useful biological control against household pests like bed bugs. Risks: Bites can be very painful if handled, though they are not aggressive toward humans and do not transmit disease.
Identified on: 2/25/2026