http://www.anomalousarts.com/junk/buuuuug.jpg
It bit/stung a friend of mine, who had a reaction (nothing serious), wherein his hand swelled up and tingled for a little while. He lives halfway between L.A. and San Diego. It’s slightly over 2 centimeters long. Any ideas, entomologists?
Could be a species this… maybe?
I think astro nailed it in one. It does appear to be an Assassin Bug. The picture is of a bug from Florida, but there are similar ones, of the colouration that you have shown in California.
Here is a page with a bit more nfo of Californian Assassin Bugs.
From Emperor Penguin’s link:
Thanks guys. He did (much later) tell me he got a big bloody blister on the bitten area, so yeah, it must have been an assassin bug. Maybe this’ll teach him to stop irritating local insects.
No problem, glad to help. Of course, astro did all of the hard work. I just have to say, I love these bug ID threads. Finally gives me a chance to put my hobby towards an actual useful end.
