The Wheel Bug (Arilus cristatus) is a true bug that uses its enlarged front legs to grab and hold its prey, then punctures it with a robust, curved beak which it uses to suck the body fluids from its victims.

It is part of a group of bugs called assassin bugs (family eduviidae). Measuring in at 1 to 1.5 inches, the Wheel Bug is the largest of about 150 species of assassin bugs here in North America. 

In the photograph above are young Wheel Bug nymphs. You’re asking for trouble if you pick up an adult or a nymph Wheel Bug. When handled carelessly (and who is to judge what that is?) a Wheel Bug will indeed bite, or perhaps a more appropriate word is pierce, a human hand creating a great deal of pain which lasts for many minutes and then the site becomes numb and that can last for days.

Another Wheel Bug nymph. This one, more mature than the red and black nymphs in the previous image. Despite their propensity to bite a hand that picks it up, a Wheel Bug is something that is beneficial to us. They make meals of critters that we generally don’t want to have in our gardens. Garden pests such as the Tomato Hornworm, Japanese Beetle, Mexican Bean Beetle, Leaf-hopper, Western Tarnished Plant Bug, Colorado Beetle, Striped/Spotted Cucumber Beetle, Aphids, Caterpillars and at the top of my list — Brown Marmorated Stink Bugs. Yes a mighty good one to have around. Just don’t pick it up.