The leaf footed assassin bug is one that lurks in wait of a number of food sources; one of which is the caterpillars and small butterflies.
Some people like having them because they eat the bad insects also, but I am not one of them.
Name: Cat Edinburg, TX in the deep south tip of Texas
Am still trying to get used to the forums on here - have to admit I get lost easily!!! Also moved all my butterfly photos to an external drive because they were taking up way too much space on my computer hard drive :o) then to top it off I screwed up the graphic program I use and haven't gotten around to re-installing it.
Once I get up and running properly I will post a variety of my Dr Death photos :o)
~ Cat
My idea of housework is to sweep the room with a glance.
I have a jar of soapy water with a wide lid I keep out in the garden. As I walk around and see these and MW bugs, I will thump the off into there. I didn't see many either until last year. I kept seeing them on my deck of all places. I figured they had gotten under there for the winter and started a family.
Name: Cat Edinburg, TX in the deep south tip of Texas
I'm with Sheila but I take more offensive tactics!!! *
I save up those wide-mouthed plastic bottles too. When I'm actively looking for predators or harvesting seeds I'll start off by pouring a little bit of alcohol or insectide into the bottle. It's easy enough to unscrew the top of the bottle and tap the bug into it then screw it back closed again and give it a few shakes to give the bug a good coating of death!!!
Those sport juice type bottles have nice wide mouths.
* Used to use soapy water to be ecologically friendly but some of those bugs can float around alive on the backs of others for days!
My idea of housework is to sweep the room with a glance.