Video: Assassin bug lures prey

Killer tactics (Image: Anne Wignall)

HERE is one bug that lives up to its name. The assassin bug will stalk its victim on its home territory, or lure it away and eat it.

Anne Wignall at Macquarie University in Sydney, Australia, placed assassin bugs on the webs of five species of spider and watched the drama unfold. She found that the bugs repeatedly either stalk or lure their prey (Journal of Ethology, DOI: 10.1007/s10164-009-0202-8).

In stalking mode, the bugs creep towards their prey and tap the web with their forelegs up to five times …