Wheel bug
The wheel bug is a big grey bug with a curved crest on its back that looks like half of a cog wheel. It is one of the largest bugs in North America. It moves slowly but is a fierce hunter of other insects.
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Fun facts
Its babies are bright red or orange and do not have the wheel yet. The wheel only grows after the last skin change.
It can make a squeaky sound by rubbing the tip of its beak in a groove under its body.
When it flies, it buzzes loudly.
A mother lays 40 to 200 little brown eggs and glues them together in a bunch on a twig.
Gardeners are happy to see it, because it eats lots of plant pests, like Japanese beetles.
Most asked questions about Wheel bug
?What does a wheel bug eat?
It hunts other insects, mostly caterpillars and beetles.
?How big is a wheel bug?
It can be up to 38 millimetres long. Females are a bit bigger than males.
For bug experts
- Scientific name
- Arilus cristatus
- Group
- True bugs and cicadas
- Family
- Reduviidae
- Classification
- Insecta > Hemiptera > Reduviidae
- Lives on
- North America
- Also known as
- North American wheel bug
Where the facts come from
- Arilus cristatus (Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0): what it looks like, where it lives, what it eats, sizes and fun facts, retold in simple words.
- Picture by Ryan Kaldari. Public domain, Wikimedia Commons. The round sticker of this bug is cut from the same picture.
If we got something wrong, sorry, we are bug fans, not a science journal. Tell us at [email protected] and we will fix it.
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