Masked Hunter Nymph (often mistaken for lint or dust)
Scientific Name: Reduvius personatus
Order & Family: Order: Hemiptera (True Bugs); Family: Reduviidae (Assassin Bugs)
Size: Nymphs vary from 3-12 mm depending on instar stage; adults are typically 17-22 mm.
Natural Habitat
Typically found indoors in dusty corners, attics, and basements. Outdoors, they live in dry, sheltered areas like woodpiles or barns.
Diet & Feeding
Strictly confusion predators; they feed on other household arthropods including bed bugs, silverfish, woodlice, spider beetles, and earwigs.
Behavior Patterns
Nymphs secrete a sticky substance that covers their body, allowing dust, sand, and lint to adhere to them as a form of camouflage (hence the 'masked' name). They are nocturnal ambush predators.
Risks & Benefits
Generally beneficial as they eat household pests. However, if handled or threatened, they can inflict a very painful bite, similar to a bee sting. They do not feed on human blood or transmit diseases.
Identified on: 2/10/2026