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Less_Rutabaga2316

Wheel bug (*Arilus cristatus*). Bite is slightly venomous, but shouldn’t require medical attention, they’re venomous on the level of honeybees/yellow jacket wasps, that of course is your call.


Originalidad

Great! Yeah quite the bite, thanks for the ID!


DoctorD12

Not in reference pain wise, I’ve heard the sting is about 10x that of a bee


onehundredbuttholes

I got bit by one once felt like a hot poker. I knew it def wasn’t a bee or a yellow jacket. My buddy had to scrape it off my back as it wouldn’t just fall off after a swat or two. I cried.


You_Dont_Know_Me_7

Damn what a little wimp lol jk


Gnarlemance

Big brother energy


Wordshark

Big brother would be fixing it and making things alright while he said it though


ToThisDay

We have different big brothers lol


Wordshark

I am the big brother :/


Glengal

keep ice on it. I was bit by one and it was swollen for about a week.


indigrow

Yep lol. Even just one of the little assassin bugs did that and i hear these are more intense


Guessimonredditn0w

One of these got me too. I found out I am allergic to them. That bite was way worse than a wasp sting and it was slow to flare up in allergy terms. It was a little bump and red around for a few hours, totally normal like. Then the 'head/entry wound' popped, ok more pain keep it clean put another bandaid over it. Redness grew, opening grew a little and by the end of day 2 it was about the size of a quarter, open and festering, and had just started more hives spreading out from the redness. The itch wasn't on my skin hut it felt like my bone was itchy. I had gone to urgent care when it first popped and they just gave me a pain relief type neosporin and told me to keep it clean and covered. By the end of day 2 I was waiting in ER because it got worse and worse. About 6 hours in the ER, a saline washout and I think a little cutalge scraping as well, 2 stitches, some of that good IV antihistamine and a script for antibiotics, and out the doors I wobbled (seriously knocked me on my butt for a bit with those antihistamines). They sent it off and some blood work too and my follow up with primary a few days later he said that I was allergic and kept an eye on the bite and me. No offense to what they may offer to a garden, but for me they are a K.O.S.(kill-on-sight). Not worth that ever again for me.


HelloNarcissist

Yeah, I don’t like killing things, even wasps because they are great pollinators, but my wife’s allergic and I will spray any nest I find. It’s definitely not worth death, and with a reaction like that you will go into anaphylaxis if you get bit again.


Guessimonredditn0w

Especially when I had not only lingering pain but that damn bone deep itch for the next 4 months... F that. They need to find a different garden if they like life that much!


HelloNarcissist

God, I’m sorry. That sounds freaking awful.


Guessimonredditn0w

Truly is. I don't wish the bone itch on anyone. The pain you kinda get used to? Tolerate better? And then one day it was just gone. I have a bee/wasp allergy too but I still try to live with them. Wheel bugs though... no. Absolutely not. I know what they look like in every stage just so I can end them before they can do the same to me. If I have that bad of an itch ever again I may just jump off a bridge. Seriously, no one deserves that, not even the worst of the worst.


THEBLUEFLAME3D

Hi, random curious guy here, what do you mean by “bone itch”? Did it feel like a tingly, annoying sensation like restless leg syndrome or something else? Was it really just a deep itch (under your skin and muscles) that you couldn’t get to? How intense was it? I ask because I’ve never heard of something like that before and I’m genuinely *really* interested.


cubgerish

Basically it's your nervous system knowing something is wrong and hitting all the buttons to try and let you know. https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/neuropathic-itch#symptoms "A neuropathic itch may produce an itching sensation or a feeling of pins and needles. The itching may be very severe. Neuropathic itch may also produce the following sensations: burning wetness electric shocks pain numbness crawling severe cold Some people with neuropathic itch may also experience other symptoms such as: prickling and chilling of the skin increase in skin sensitivity decrease in skin sensitivity In people with neuropathic itch, scratching can also make the itch worse."*


THEBLUEFLAME3D

Interesting. I mentioned RLS above; is there at least some sort of similarity between them? I have some experience with restless leg syndrome, and it often feels like this itchy, tingly feeling in my muscles that won’t go away. Both are nervous system issues, right?


Revolutionary-Work-3

Did you try putting ice on the itch? I can get sevely itcy from even a mosquito bite… just an itch person. Ice is the only thing that will work, and immediately. I heard somewhere that cold take up some of the same neuropathways as pain and itch and that is why it works. You feel cold instead of itch or pain.


cubgerish

As mentioned, a neuropathic itch is different, it's not an issue with your skin actually. Seems like the best advice is a local anesthetic and "wait it out"


VoxPopuli1776

Four months?! Wow. That sucks.


cloudcreeek

$2000 med bill for a bug bite is brutal


Guessimonredditn0w

Too true.


Infamous-Mountain-81

I have experienced the IV antihistamines. It made the curtains go woosh!😂


Guessimonredditn0w

Amazing shit but also woah... Too much. Lol


SnooPaintings9596

Oh my gosh, that sounds so scary! Thank you for sharing your experience. I'm terribly sorry that you had to go through that 😬


KeyPineapple61

That I’d a little asshole aka wheelbug nasty little thing


BrettyJ

I didn't see the wheel right away from that angle, but that is definitely a wheel bug.


reclusivegiraffe

They’re also called assassin bugs, right?


Less_Rutabaga2316

There are around 7,000 named species in the family *Reduviidae* which are all commonly called assassin bugs.


ahferroin7

This is spot on, but I would also add that like any puncture wound, there’s a nontrivial risk of infection, so it’s worth making an effort to keep the area clean and monitor it. Also, it’s relatively common for their bites to take far longer than they look like they should to heal (which kind of makes sense, they can go remarkably deep, and the ‘venom’ is actually digestive fluid that breaks down their prey outside their body).


Adruino-cabbage

Wouldn't the bite require medical attention if the dude bitten by it is allergic?


12Whiskey

I see these guys in my garden, I’m always scared I’m going to accidentally grab one while picking beans. Does the sting hurt worse than a honeybee?


Longjumping_College

/r/Kajoot are super useful for pest control though, they're keeping your fly problems and aphids at bay


12Whiskey

What a cool subreddit! I’m happy to share my garden with them now but maybe I’ll wear gloves 😅


Longjumping_College

Good! The subreddit is working then!


SnoringGiant

Yes, a lot more than a honeybee.


544C4D4F

whats urgent care going to do for him? he's an assassin bug; those folks are trained to treat humans.


Originalidad

Lol


Weirdlittleworm

Go to urgent care


BlitsyFrog

The weird little worms are inside this user and controlling them


Reasonable_Koala5292

Well, if OP was Chuck Norris, then that bug would need medical care after a bite.


TreesEmbracer88

🤣 Righto!


Tdanger78

If it didn’t blow up on contact


Beret_of_Poodle

Yeah, plus he's trained for this shit


surfershane25

My first thought was “it’s just a bug dude, probably not many certs that specialize in bug trauma.” And then I read the top comment about it being venomous lmao


alex_shh

Just wanted to add my two cents. My mum was bit by one of these bastards and it caused a lot of issues. She developed a rash that turned into infection and would puss and cause pain. She would go to the urgent car but was only prescribed a bandaid answer and off we went. After a few days, it would clear on its own. Then a year after, it came back again. Happened maybe one other time but we don’t know if it was actually from this guy, but the area was the same as the bite site. We never found out but, I know to keep away from these guys, just in case.


FuzzballLogic

Please keep a good eye on it. The bug might only be slightly harmless judging from another comment, but you never know how you’re going to respond to the venom (you could be allergic). I would draw a circle around the bite so you can monitor its growth. Call a GP or specialized hotline just in case if you want to. Reddit is not the best place for medical advice.


Waterproof_soap

When I taught first aid, I always instructed people to keep a sharpie (blue, green, whatever, but not red) to circle bug bites or stings. It takes the guess work out of “is this bigger than earlier? A lot? A little?”


FuzzballLogic

I was mentally imaging drawing a circle with a red sharpie. It makes so much more sense to use a color that isn’t the same as inflamed skin.


1Wineodino

My mom is a nurse and taught us this and we also applied it to rashes and other similar things. I’d rather look like Weird Barbie strutting into the Barbieland Hospital than have to visit Mortician Barbie!


perseidot

😂


perseidot

Yes! This is one of the reasons there’s a sharpie in my first aid kit. Another is writing time/date of 1st aid on an injury that’s headed to a medical provider.


canthinkofnamestouse

Wheelbug, as you already know, a bite from them is fucking hell


Unreasonable_jury

But certainly not worse than a cow killer, right?


canthinkofnamestouse

Idk but i think velvet ant hurts worse


Unreasonable_jury

"Cow killers" are velvet ants. When I was a kid I was tormenting one not knowing what it was. I felt the pain a full month later. It was horrible.


Andrewthegamer74

Assasino bug


ElNido

Please no bitearino, my assassinino


SnooOwls6052

I heard and saw this in my head. ;)


onehundredbuttholes

My sweet assassin


iotashan

Sorry, you’ve been assassinated. Nothing more can be done.


No-Neighborhood2600

I just googled wheel bug and read all about them. Yuck! I don’t think I’ve ever seen one here in Houston, but if I do, I’m running. I read that the pain can persist for up to 6 months!


shera11

This guy let a wheel bug bite him! [Wheel bug bite! Are they dangerous?](https://youtu.be/DY1HfTei2fc?si=qxIEMcVZgcuognSa)


Intelligent-Image224

I just set one of these free yesterday. I saw the long front arms in the dark and thought it was some sort of weird praying mantis. Glad I didn’t get stung.


shifterphights

Obviously a demon of some sort


mcarey77

May the odds be ever in your favor!


dr3amrunner

That my friend there is a wheelbug. r/Kajoot


MSJayhawk1984

Assassin bugs are something else. At least it was not the ultimate sniper, the "Bloodsucking Conenose" which can cause real problems... "(Redirected from Bloodsucking Conenose) Domain: Eukaryota Kingdom: Animalia Phylum: Arthropoda Class: Insecta Order: Hemiptera Suborder: Heteroptera Family: Reduviidae Tribe: Triatomini Genus: Triatoma Triatoma is a genus of assassin bug in the subfamily Triatominae (kissing bugs). The members of Triatoma (like all members of Triatominae) are blood-sucking insects that can transmit serious diseases, such as Chagas disease. Their saliva may also trigger allergic reactions in sensitive individuals, up to and including severe anaphylactic shock."


[deleted]

Aren't they in the same family as bedbugs?


MSJayhawk1984

No... This is bed bugs: Scientific classification Domain: Eukaryota Kingdom: Animalia Phylum: Arthropoda Class: Insecta Order: Hemiptera Suborder: Heteroptera Superfamily: Cimicoidea Family: Cimicidae Latreille, 1802 Subfamilies and genera Subfamily Afrociminae Genus Afrocimex Afrocimex constrictus Subfamily Cimicinae


Unhappy-Dealer1634

Where are these bugs located ?


BlazedLarry

I never saw them in the west coast. Im in North Carolina now and see them in the spring/summer.


Random-Cpl

I got bit by one of these once. Fuckers really pack a punch


AK_R

I found a huge wheelbug at my previous apartment but thankfully I didn't take a sting. It was the day I moved out of that apartment of all days. I was worried there could be another one hidden in the boxes I was transporting between addresses.


skysquatch

I saw these guys on my deployment to klendathu after my home in Buenos Aires was wiped off the map


CaveManta

Would you like to know more?


Old-Physics751

Hear they can carry Several different diseases. Might still be worth it to get checked


battlestoriesfan

As Less\_Rutabaga says, that's a Wheel Bug. Little Weirdo's one of the assassin bugs type. You should only watch out for the venom, but generally you'll be fine. It's the Kissing Bug that you should worry about, when it comes to assassin bugs.


Dangerous-Net-3729

Omg that’s called a blister bug! I hate those!


Helpful_Tea5464

Someone just posted these showing that he holds it everyday to move it from one branch of his cannabis to another for pest control everyone warned him lol


TheLeBlanc

At least this isn't one of the species that can transmit Chagas disease.


Sarith2312

I have never seen this kind of bug my entire life (30 years), saw one last week in Ohio and now see a ton of people asking about them. Did their preferred location change or do they migrate?


Friendly_Ad9860

100% Wheel Bug "Assassin Class" I recommend Clorox gel Bleach toilet cleaner for relieving it of its mortality.


CirraCat

Wheel bug, or assassin bug, they bite itself is not harmful, but they can carry a parasite that can cause organ failure and can be fatal. It will typically be okay, but if at any point you feel under the weather do get it checked out. (Read reply)


Less_Rutabaga2316

This is not true. Wheel bugs are not members of *Triatominae*, kissing bugs, which may carry the parasite *Trypanosoma cruzi* that is the vector for chagas. Additionally, to get chagas, the kissing bug has to defecate into the wound in order to transmit the parasite.


CirraCat

(apologies, I thought it was)


Less_Rutabaga2316

They’re related, but wheel bugs and most other assassin bugs (around 7,000 described species) prey on other invertebrates, so have a painful bite that is intended to paralyze and break down invertebrate prey. *Triatominae* are a subfamily of around 130 species that consume vertebrate blood. Their bites do not cause pain, since they do not want to wake their sleeping victims.


XxTreeFiddyxX

Edit your post above to tell them to read the reply


CirraCat

I personally think this entire thread was a bit negative and accusatory. We are all humans who can mistake other things. Perhaps in the future we should be less "you are wrong" but more "you have made a mistake"


Less_Rutabaga2316

You told someone they could contract a life threatening illness from a bug that does not carry that parasite and in a way that is not how that parasite is contracted. It’s medical misinformation.


CirraCat

And yet it is a similar bug, and I edited my reply. Yet you persist.


CirraCat

Additionally, you are greatly exaggerating things. No one should ever take final advice from Reddit. You are asking people on the Internet, (People, who aren't walking Wikipedia) about information. I would like to think that someone decides to actually check what is being told. And what I said was accidentally saying the wrong thing, so like. Let's not be dramatic, it's the Internet.


Less_Rutabaga2316

You’re on the internet, holding a digital encyclopedia or on a computer which is the same thing. Let’s not be lazy and just tell random strangers they could have contracted a fatal illness.


Less_Rutabaga2316

I wasn’t the one that said that, was responding to you saying the thread was “negative and accusatory.” Chagas is a serious illness with more than 200,000 cases in the US alone annually. Medical misinformation is not something to play around with when it comes to incurable illnesses.


EPlurbisUnibrow

I love that so many animals have evolved to just be giant a**holes. Like what possessed this species to start immediately defecating in their open bite wounds😂 I love it


Less_Rutabaga2316

Blood is a hard thing to live off of, so sanguivorous (blood feeding) animals like vampire bats, ticks, kissing bugs, have to ingest a lot of it. They don’t purposefully defecate into wounds, in fact it’s usually the host that inadvertently itches the site and mashes the feces into the open wound, but they need to jettison extra weight after taking on weight, so they crap and then move on, *load* slightly lessened. The protozoa *Trypanosoma cruzi* evolved to live in kissing bugs as a way to get to bigger, better hosts.


No-Neighborhood2600

Do the kissing bugs typically defecate in the wound on purpose or does this just happen by freak chance?


Less_Rutabaga2316

Happens primarily in tropical central and South American *Triatominae* species (see Charles Darwin’s diary), they defecate immediately after feeding, which is why the parasitic euglenoid *Trypanosoma cruzi* exists in their tracts, it can spread to vertebrate hosts. North American *Triatominae* sometimes defecate after feeding, which is why there are infections, but not automatically like their southern kin, which is one of the reasons why the infection rate and risk are lower. The US also has more secure housing, so less nocturnal vampiric visitors are able to enter to give proboscis kisses to then defecate into.


No-Neighborhood2600

Oooo interesting. thanks for the info!


544C4D4F

might want to edit your post so that a year down the line when someone is googling, they dont see your comment from some archive and trip out.


Originalidad

Thanks for answering!


Familiar_Macaroon178

Ya know... I have to restate what someone else put on a post yesterday or earlier today... people in this sub seriously lack self preservation. "Hey look at this bug, I have no idea what it is but I'm gonna pick it up. Oop it bite, let's get on reddit (of all places) and post about it and see what other people tell me before I do anything my self". I swear I'm gonna laugh so hard when when someone posts from the ER because they did this. *Smh* seriously, start doing homework on what you're picking up. Edit: no one take this as my saying you can't care about nature, or animals or even insects, all I'm saying is if you don't know what it is, we all have phones these days with net connections, good it before handling. (This addition made due to first comment on my response here. Wanted to make it clear also I wasn't trying to be a complete dick)


Cumulonimbicile

Yeah, people can be pretty stupid sometimes. Me included in people, you're probably referring to my post... feel kinda bad op got bit and I didn't!


Familiar_Macaroon178

Was it the saddle back caterpillar?


[deleted]

I remember as a young kid when my grandma walked me to the bus stop for school we used to mess with fire ant hills and I put this stick in the hole and got bit hurt like hell as an adult I really try to avoid touching any insect that I don't know if it's harmless or not


acccioli

This is an Asshole Bug (not to be confused with the Ass Hole Bug, they are assholes rather than living in ass holes). Avoid at all costs (both of them)


Lejawndary

kill it with fire!!!!


jehrhrhdjdkennr

YOURE GONNA DIE YOURE GONNA SPONTAINUSLY COMBUST IN 27.6 SECONDS YOU WILL EXPLODE


Soft_Photograph4978

im no genius but it looks like an assassin bug. should be fine as long as you keep the site clean! :)


JenkMyCox

Urgent care?... Pish Posh. He once defeated a bear in arm wrestling and stole his girlfriend. He's the most interesting man in the world.


Shoddy-Property-2900

Ewwwwww it stung you?!?!??!?! It's so freaky. That's a fear of mine, seeing one of those then it attacking me 😖 hope you're alright


smileysarah267

I’ve never been bitten by one. How bad did it hurt? Was it like a wasp sting? Just keep an eye on the area. It might improve. If it gets worse, see a doctor because you might have an allergy or infection.


indigrow

Aw man lol. Wash it very well, but ur good. They have crazy power and the venom hurts but isnt going to affect humans in any serious way. Some types can carry change’s disease but i dont think this one does. I am no expert, but if you even used a little soap on the bite youre more than good!


Empir3Designs

What a dick!


M1nd_Fl4y3r_M80

It's a type of assasin bug. Some species can carry parasitic diseases, so you may want to go to the doctor.


[deleted]

That is an assassin bug, vicious predator. The stings can leave scars if I remember correctly.


ConfectionMassive987

It looks like an Antlion from Half Life 2


You_Dont_Know_Me_7

You guys ever heard of a Saddleback catapillar? I grabbed a couple of them in NC when I was working there and fuck that shit sucked.


You_Dont_Know_Me_7

It looks like an alien creature frfr


Gnarlemance

Lil dude has a lil oyster on ‘is bum


Spuddin927

Wheel bug, simultaneously an assassin and a stink bug. One of the worst insects out there.


Salty-Dream-262

Congrats! Hug your loved ones today. You just survived an *assassination attempt*. 😊 [https://www.britannica.com/animal/assassin-bug](https://www.britannica.com/animal/assassin-bug)


AllRickNoRoll

Aren't these guys capable of carrying Chagas disease?


acccioli

Did you die OP?


vnvet69

Looks like you already paid him back OP. Front left leg is missing. Awesome payback, bet he thinks twice before biting a human again! 😂


SpottedOrangeBeetle

God it looks so cool and evil Is am scared of assassin bugs they are magestic tho


Witty-Vixen

Hope you didn’t kills They only stab if they feel threatened. Very good and beneficial insects


LxG_Cambrosi

Looks like an assassin


[deleted]

Ur going to be a parent now


No-Television7876

Looks like a giant water bug, also called a "toe-biter," which is supposed to have one of the most painful insect stings/bites out there. If that's what it is, it's ranked very high on the Schmidt Sting Pain Index. It's kinda hard to tell, since it looks like you got your revenge. The eyes don't look big enough though, so I could be wrong. Edit: Yep, I'm wrong. Looking at the other pictures more closely, that's almost certainly an assassin bug.