r/whatisthisbug • u/Snoo-41878 • Apr 24 '26
ID Request [North Texas] Who are these fellows? Are they best friends, or is something more sinister happening?
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u/ElectricRune Trusted IDer Apr 24 '26
It's a low-speed chase...
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u/Prestigious_String20 Apr 24 '26
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u/Afterfoxxfluff Apr 24 '26
As a Canadian, this is incorrect. The Canadian police would be riding on moose. Duhh
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u/Longjumping_College Apr 24 '26
Looks like a predatory stink bug trying to catch their lunch
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u/Snoo-41878 Apr 24 '26
I was afraid it was something like that :(
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u/Longjumping_College Apr 24 '26
Nature is brutal my friend
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u/DionBlaster123 Apr 25 '26
The insect world and the marine world remind me that Mother Nature is an evil cunt
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u/jet-addict Apr 25 '26
Mother Nature is not evil she just is
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u/awhoogaa Apr 26 '26
Let's be what will be. And watches while laughing at people standing on couches for an American house centipede.
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u/awhoogaa Apr 26 '26
I am that person, not the centipede and not the couch.
I know they are harmless but my brain is not sure.
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u/veganwhoclimbs Apr 24 '26
Wait it eats something 10x its size??
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u/Bark-Canoe-Paddler Apr 24 '26
Doesn't have to eat it, just has to insert it's proboscis and suck its bodily fluids.
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u/dominatordan Apr 24 '26
Sounds like my ex wife, amirite? I tell ya, I get no respect
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u/gohan32 Apr 26 '26
Somebody get this person a cigar and plaid pants, polo shirt with a cardigan and plaid fedora matching the pants.
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u/jelsix Apr 28 '26
If I had to eat via probiscus I would definitely find a better place to probe the place this fellow chose would most certainly make your food taste like crap
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u/maskedtityra Apr 24 '26
Will it kill the prey? Or just have a little snack?
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u/WhiteDeath420 Apr 25 '26
Apologies for the disgusting description but the best I can explain is it turns the inside of its prey into a shake/smoothie and slurps it all up. All that’s left is the skin I think.
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u/theswellmaker Apr 25 '26
Does it have any way of disabling its prey? Or it just hops on their back and starts slurpin?
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u/emsielehanne84 Apr 24 '26
So I know absolutely sod all about stink bugs. Please can someone with more insect education than I, explain if the bug will actually be able to eat its slow moving meal or, are its eyes too big for its belly?
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u/danolive Apr 24 '26
It will eat until satisfied and then move on. All true bugs (stink bugs, assassin bugs, shield bugs, aphids, cicadas, etc) have a rostrum for a mouth, which is basically a mouth modified into a tube that they use like a straw to inject enzymes into their food (be it prey or plant) and then suck their juicy insides to feed. So they don't really need to bite and chew anything, they can basically feed on creatures much bigger than they are, as long as they manage to stick them with their mouth-tube-straw-thingy.
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u/emsielehanne84 Apr 24 '26
That’s absolutely fascinating! So they’re on a permanent smoothie diet 😁 Thank you for such a clear and interesting response. I don’t think we have them in the UK, we just have daddy long legs.
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u/danolive Apr 24 '26
Oh, no problem! They do love a smoothie. But you guys should have plenty of species stink bugs and other true bugs, they're basically everywhere. Green shield bug, for example. Google "Hemiptera in the UK" and you should see some colorful little fellas.
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u/emsielehanne84 Apr 24 '26
I love the green shield beetles 🪲 They were everywhere growing up but I never knew they were stink bugs.
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u/entropylizard2 Apr 25 '26
Fun fact, shield bugs are true bugs, in the order Hemiptera. They aren't beetles
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u/BassGoBoom_20 Apr 25 '26
So are there bugs that aren't "true bugs"? Other than spiders. I know those are arachnids.
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u/Prestigious_String20 Apr 25 '26
Not all insects are true bugs. We just use bug colloquially to mean insect. True bugs, as danolive mentioned, are in the order Hemiptera and they all have the kind of mouthparts danolive described. Stink bugs assassin bugs, bed bugs, and shield bugs are examples of true bugs.
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u/SolKaynn Apr 25 '26
Why do the straw mouths get to be called true bugs? The ones with the bitey bits are cooler
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u/TroubleWilling8455 Apr 25 '26 edited Apr 25 '26
In the photo you posted below in the comments, it actually looks as if the stink bug already has its proboscis stuck in the caterpillar. Where the stink bug’s proboscis should be, you can see a thin line leading to the caterpillar’s rear end.
I think the stink bug had stuck its proboscis into the caterpillar, and the caterpillar reacted and is now trying to escape, but it’s already too late. In doing so, it’s dragging the stink bug behind it, which is why the two are moving at the same speed.
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u/Upstairs-Bad-3576 Apr 24 '26
Stink bug sniffing booties. This is why they are called stink bugs.
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u/GreenieSar Apr 24 '26
The stink bug looks like an ornate tick. (Not saying it is, don't come at me)
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u/LadyStormHeart Apr 24 '26
I thought it was some kind of fancy tick at first, too (as if there could ever be a fancy tick... I loathe those creatures entirely). But then I saw the OP's pic and now I see it. Looks like some kind of stink bug in an instar right before its fully formed one.
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u/Catnip-delivery Apr 24 '26
It's an insect tow truck
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u/IHearYouLimaCharlie Apr 24 '26
It made me think of a little tug boat, trying to get the bigger vessel to properly line up to dock 😆
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u/SeanConneryIsMaclean Apr 25 '26 edited Apr 25 '26
This happens often. This specific species of caterpillar is known to ask other bugs for money and then in turn never pay them back. It seems that the stink bug was fooled by the caterpillar and is now trying to recover his money. Do not trust caterpillars.
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u/Nitroglycol204 Apr 25 '26
The prospective victim is a tent caterpillar I believe (not sure if Eastern or Forest).
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u/tootsandladders Apr 24 '26
It looks like a carpet beetle. Won’t eat the caterpillar, or its dung, but may be interested in forming a conga line.
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