Masked Hunter Nymph
Scientific Name: Reduvius personatus
Order & Family: Hemiptera (True Bugs), Reduviidae (Assassin Bugs)
Size: Nymphs range from 5 mm to 15 mm depending on stage; adults are typically 17-22 mm.
Natural Habitat
Often found indoors in dusty corners, basements, and attics; outdoors they live in dry piles of wood or debris.
Diet & Feeding
They are predators that hunt bed bugs, silverfish, ants, and flies. The 'masked' behavior is a camouflage strategy used to ambition these prey insects.
Behavior Patterns
Nymphs cover their bodies with dust, lint, sand, and other debris as camouflage (the 'mask'), making them look like a walking dust bunny. They are generally solitary hunters.
Risks & Benefits
Benefits: Useful pest control as they eat other household pests like bed bugs. Risks: While they do not attack humans, they can inflict a painful bite if handled or threatened.
Identified on: 2/27/2026