''Ptilocnemus lemur'' is a species of feather-legged bug in the

family Family (from la, familia) is a Social group, group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or Affinity (law), affinity (by marriage or other relationship). The purpose of the family is to maintain the well-being of its ...

Reduviidae The Reduviidae are a large cosmopolitan family of the order Hemiptera (true bugs). Among the Hemiptera and together with the Nabidae almost all species are terrestrial ambush predators: most other predatory Hemiptera are aquatic. The main exampl ...

native to Australia. Commonly known as the feather-legged assassin bug, it is a

predator Predation is a biological interaction where one organism, the predator, kills and eats another organism, its prey. It is one of a family of common feeding behaviours that includes parasitism and micropredation (which usually do not kill th ...

with a specialized gland called a trichome that it uses to attract and paralyse

ant Ants are eusocial insects of the family Formicidae and, along with the related wasps and bees, belong to the order Hymenoptera. Ants evolved from vespoid wasp ancestors in the Cretaceous period. More than 13,800 of an estimated total of 22 ...

s before feeding on them.

Description

''Ptilocnemus lemur'' is a moderate sized assassin bug. It has a small head with a pair of feathery antennae with three segments, and a large down-curving

proboscis A proboscis () is an elongated appendage from the head of an animal, either a vertebrate or an invertebrate. In invertebrates, the term usually refers to tubular mouthparts used for feeding and sucking. In vertebrates, a proboscis is an elong ...

, a wide thorax and a moderately broad abdomen. The wings have three veins. The hind pair of legs are much larger than the other two pairs and the

tibia The tibia (; ), also known as the shinbone or shankbone, is the larger, stronger, and anterior (frontal) of the two bones in the leg below the knee in vertebrates (the other being the fibula, behind and to the outside of the tibia); it connects ...

e of these are heavily clad with bristles. The head and thorax are yellowish-brown and the abdomen mottled grey and black.

Distribution

''P. lemur'' is native to Australia where it lives in forests. It can be found on the trunks of trees where its drab colours help to

camouflage Camouflage is the use of any combination of materials, coloration, or illumination for concealment, either by making animals or objects hard to see, or by disguising them as something else. Examples include the leopard's spotted coat, the ...

it as it stands on the bark.

Biology

The trichome is a glandular structure on the ventral surface of the third abdominal segment. It produces a secretion that is attractive to ants and which paralyses them. In addition to this, there are glandular patches on the front few abdominal segments, and these patches, but not the trichome, are also present in

nymphs A nymph ( grc, νύμφη, nýmphē, el, script=Latn, nímfi, label=Modern Greek; , ) in ancient Greek folklore is a minor female nature deity. Different from Greek goddesses, nymphs are generally regarded as personifications of nature, are typ ...

of this species. Both adults and nymphs of this assassin bug are specialist predators on ants. The feeding behaviour of the nymph has been closely studied. It stands near an ant trail and waves one of its hairy hind legs to attract the attention of a passing ant, the

jack jumper ant Jack may refer to: Places * Jack, Alabama, US, an unincorporated community * Jack, Missouri, US, an unincorporated community * Jack County, Texas, a county in Texas, USA People and fictional characters * Jack (given name), a male given name, ...

(''Myrmecia pilosula'') often being targeted. The prey may be bigger than the nymph, and is also lured towards the bug by the release of a

pheromone A pheromone () is a secreted or excreted chemical factor that triggers a social response in members of the same species. Pheromones are chemicals capable of acting like hormones outside the body of the secreting individual, to affect the behavio ...

. When an ant approaches, the nymph raises its body so that the ant can taste the secretion produced by the trichome. The bug waits for the ant to grab its hind leg and then turns round and plunges the stylets in the proboscis into a weak spot in the ant's cuticle, the joint at the back of the head. It then jerks and shakes the ant around, perhaps to prevent it from biting, and injects saliva into the wound. The ant soon dies and the bug may carry it to a crevice or other concealed spot. When the body contents of the ant have liquefied, the bug sucks out the body fluids.

References

External links

Video clip of a feather-legged assassin bug attracting and feeding on an ant
ARKive {{Taxonbar, from=Q18396103 Reduviidae Insects described in 1840 Hemiptera of Australia