Milkweed Assassin Bug

Gardens, fields, and wooded areas across the Americas, often found on plants and shrubs

Carnivorous; feeds on a variety of soft-bodied insects including caterpillars, aphids, and beetles

Waits passively in ambush for prey, capturing them with specialized sticky forelegs and piercing them with a proboscis to inject digestive enzymes

Beneficial as a natural predator of garden pests, but can deliver a painful defensive bite if handled improperly