Community identification
Masked Hunter (Nymph)
Reduvius personatus
- Order & Family
- Hemiptera: Reduviidae
- Size
- 15 to 22 mm when fully grown as adults; nymphs are smaller and covered in debris.
Natural Habitat
Often found indoors in dark, dry areas like basements, attics, and storage rooms, as well as outdoors in woodpiles.
Diet & Feeding
Carnivorous predator that eats small arthropods including bed bugs, carpet beetles, silverfish, and earwigs.
Behavior Patterns
Nymphs secrete a sticky substance to camouflage themselves with dust, lint, and debris (a behavior known as 'masking'). They are nocturnal hunters.
Risks & Benefits
Benefits the ecosystem and households by preying on pests like bed bugs. While not aggressive, they can deliver a painful bite to humans if handled or threatened.