Horrid King Assassin Bug: The Best Pet Invertebrate?
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- Опубліковано 10 чер 2024
- Horrid King Assassin Bugs (Psytalla horrida) are a large predatory insect sometimes kept as a pet. Are they the best pet invertebrate? For many people, the answer is no, as they have a painful bite, and are reported to be able to spray their irritating venom into a human’s eyes. Because of these potential hazards are NOT a pet for children or beginners, and should not be handled without appropriate protection. However, for those who plan to care for them responsibly, they are certainly a fascinating and unique species!
Many thanks to Ray Tripp of www.bugeaters.co for letting us meet his Assassin bugs!
Learn more about Assassin bugs from Ray’s podcast on this topic:
castbox.fm/episode/Giant-Afri...
Read more about Assassin bugs in the pet insect hobby in Orin McMonigle’s book:
amzn.to/38dmdmI
I am a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to amazon.com. In other words, I earn a small commission when you use that affiliate link, at no cost to you.
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Cricket: Hey buddy!
Assassin Bug: (burp)
LOL! 🤣👍We wanted to capture just such a moment on film, but no one was hungry this time. Would like to do a feeding video with these guys at some point! 😃
@@Aquarimax me me pick me! My AssBug looks diff. Than all I have seen...
I remember getting bitten by a Kissing Bug and honestly contemplating just dying to make the pain stop. Not the same thing but a close enough cousin.
I have heard iit is extremely unpleasant...sorry to hear you went through that.
Wow...thanks 4 the Heads Up. Mine literally walks on my hand. As a nymph...thought it was a Mantis. But reaseaching it ........wont be doing that again!
@@reneesmith3953 🤦♀️😂😂
@@reneesmith3953 Hahah, yeah there's a reason you shouldn't really handle any inverts unless you know for a fact what they are, I remember seeing someone holding a Brazilian wandering spider on an insect identification subreddit lol, one of the most dangerous being on the planet and the guy just thought he'd pick it up. Still, it's good to know both can be tame and calm, I guess.. If it didn't stab you yet, it probably doesn't mind you, but yeah not really worth it to see if he changes his mind or not as an adult..
I once hab a similar species and got sprayed in my eye while I was feeding them...it was super painful for a couple hours! You should be really careful with these guys
ichverstehe1 Yes indeed...appropriate precautions are critical with this species, as well as with other assassin bug species. 👍
Can't touch him? I don't think I would touch anything with the word Assassin in it's name.
Probably a safe policy 🤣👍
Same; I'll never play Assassin's Creed for this reason! ;)
Definitely the best NAMED invertebrate ...!
Never heard of these guys before. They're oddly cute.
Dr.Bright That is a good way to describe them...although not the kind of cute that makes you want to boop them on the nose. The kind of cute that makes you want to keep a safe distance and admire it from the other side of a pane of glass. Or, to quote Cassie in Antman, “He’s so ugly! I LOVE him!”
@@Aquarimax Yeah, I'm definitely not going to touch one of these guys. I'll happily call them cute from the other side of the glass.
I got 4 nymph a few weeks ago. They are awesome eaters, They demolish prey much larger than them selves.
Daz A That has got to be one of the coolest things about them!
Great video. Enjoyed the format of the interview.
Wally Kern Thank you Wally, it was fun to do!
Beautifully natural enclosure
It looks like someone dumped a cockroach in some nuclear waste...definitely not something anyone would want to get bit by.
Aquatinsect dry true!
I can’t believe I haven’t seen this. Awesome! Mate, your channel is so underrated!
Komodo M Thank you! I appreciate that!
I just caught an assasin bug at work. Time to do research lol
Omg! I just got some recently and was hoping you would do one of these on them!
Perfect timing then!
Heartworm and Chagas disease are not the same thing, but as far as I can tell, this species does not carry Chagas..only certain species of assassin bugs in the Americas do.
You're Half Correct "Heartworms and Chagas are not the same thing", Chagas was the name of the scientist that discovered the assassin beetle. The larva is transferred to humans threw your eyes by way of the beetles feces as it sucks your tears when you sleep. Telling sign is your eye swelling up or even closed.The larva then travels threw your blood stream to your heart where they attach themselves and grow into worms. Heartworms is the stage of the beetle life, and Chagas is the name a person. So it is said that if you are infected by an assassin beetle then you have ''Chagas'',(Heartworms).I live in South Texas and kill them on my front porch every night, and someone in my life has tested positive for "Chagas".
Brilliant video!
Learned recently that we live in the same state. Would love to get some isopods from you soon. 👍
Taylor Gallagher sure! Send me an email from the contact page at Aquarimax.com 👍
Awesome video its good to get to know more about those bettle thank for sharing guys
Thank you for watching, Crystal! It was a fun collaboration!
I LOVE THESE! I have the 2 spots, can never find these when I remember them lol
I’d like to keep these, my wife is not a fan 😂
I enjoyed your video thoroughly
Keep up the amazing work 👍
Mustafa Ansari Thank you Mustafa! 👍
@@Aquarimax hey Rus you once said to me that you teach in a university
What subject do you teach ?
Very interesting, thank you!
another magnificent informative video..THANK YOU FOR SHARING SUCH COOL VIDEOS!! GOD BLESS YOU!!
Atreyu Principalh Thank you! I am really glad you enjoyed it!
I love my bugs, isopods, etc... But I just found out that people keep Assassin bugs as pets, and i have to question... WHY?!?!?!?! lol
Well, they are pretty amazing ! 🤣
@@Aquarimax yeah... I can see myself keeping them too at some point lol
I may not own or know much about ABs except they have cousins that wear the bodies of their victims like leatherface or cruella, I think the ABs that can fly do so for warding away predators or doing a swift silent Assassins Creed dive on prey.
The males can fly as they have wings but rarely do!
I have yet to have these ever bite in defense, and I find they go great in a bioactive setup as well.
Holy smokes!!! Not the pet for me but they are cool
Arnaldo M.B. I agree with you 👍
I keep these I also keep the wheel bug, the largest north american species of assassin bug. It's about the size of the white spotted assassins. Not quite as big as the horrids. I would say they are an even better pet than the horrid kings. They live communally too, which isn't the case for many native species. I'm not sure which looks cooler... The wheel bugs are "cute" I guess, lot of fluffy grey hair (setea) and the nymphs are adorable.... P. Horrida looks tough and "mean" (though I see the beauty in them both, aesthetically the wheel bug is a very different. They're slow, calm. Very even tempered, never had a bite.(I feel like I'm like the ambassador for the wheel bugs.) An amazing experience raising these animals. I have a few clips of them uploaded on here, couple of seconds long. Also Sinea diadema another species of reduviidae that's a little harder to keep because those must be kept individually. Time consuming. Very attractive bug as well, though quite smaller.
Love wheel bugs! They're fairly common where I live
There were quite a few inaccuracies in this video, but they were all harmless technicalities.
Great guide! I'm never planning on keeping these - they are too unpleasant for my taste. The closest I'd consider would be water striders, because of their cool surface-tension manipulation and elegance.
I don’t think I could get away with keeping these either...my wife wouldn’t want them in the house. It was fun to encounter them though...from a safe distance. 😁👍
If you call out in accuracy why not say what they said wrong.Kinda of a dick move to say your wrong but not say what part
Water striders are also cool! I hoped you had a video of your own on them that I could watch. I also couldn't find a more accurate video on the assassin bugs. Could you send the link to me?
Iove your content
Angus MacDougall Thank you! I’ll try to keep it coming!
I have a UA-cam video of me handling one of these. There nothing to worry about unless you try to grab one or something stupid
Mike Doran I have heard it can be done if care is taken, as you have done. I’ll just err on the side of caution. 😊👍
Your channel is insanely awesome. I'm sorry it's not witty but that's all I got.
Jacob Smith I:lo take it! 🤣👍
They can get into trouble if they don't have a vertical surface... They hang to molt! 👍
Yep...some of the larger pieces of cork bark were temporarily removed for ease of transport...forgot to mention that.
@@Aquarimax.. Cool, I used to breed red spots and white spots 👍❤️
Do red spot assassin bugs have spines?i got four juveniles today and they have lots of spines which makes me think they are giant spiny assassin bugs?
how interesting
is orchid bark fine?
I also heard that they spray and that it's not good to inhalate the mist of it. :/
Hey is the Assassin bug fatal if he bites?
they'll eat small reptiles too. seen one eat a lizard before
I believe it!
ive been looking for a reputable place to purchase assassin bugs , does anyone know of someone/place ?
If the colony is big enough could they eat mice and or rats?
When sanitizing leaves in the oven how long should I bake them for and what temperature should I bake them at?
poopRooster WR I bake them for about 30 minutes at 200 F. 👍
Aquarimax Pets thank you. I actually just boiled them for about 6 minutes on the stove. Does that work as well? I know you have to let them dry but hopefully that got rid of most of the harmful bacteria.
poopRooster WR boiling works too 👍
@@Aquarimax thx
they look harmless enough...LOL! Cool video...thanks guys! I am guessing there are many insects in Africa that are best left alone. ;-)
Thanks Sean! Yes, I have family that lived in Africa for years...definitely some scary insects there!
Ick ! Why would any one want an icky black and red assassin bug? Good educational video.
I would get these guys *IF* they couldn’t climb up smooth surfaces or fly. I would line breed them so they eventually lose that ability to climb well. But that would take many years and many generations of breeding.
Why ha e wings if you can't fly? What's the evolutionary advantage of keeping vestigial wings?
Clint Parsons in this case, they can use them to warn potential predators away. 👍 did you see what the one did at the very end of the video?
Wings actually open up more space for other revolution advantages
Can you keep different species together
William Barbour I am not sure, but I would tend to avoid it, just to prevent hybridization in the case of closely related species, not to mention the fact that they might eat other species, since they will even eat their own species if they get too hungry.
My AssBug is diff from any I've seen in my reaseach. WTHeck is mine? It's a light green.
Where can I get some of these? I'm interested in having a colony
Bugsincyberspace.com stocks these guys, as does bugeaters.co 👍
@@Aquarimax thanks. This would be a fascinating species for my collection
I love there cousin the wheel bug had one for a pet ,there just as big And so awesome and alien looking ,
Jimmy Stargel wheel bugs are very cool too! 👍
Jimmy Stargel I mentioned Wheel bugs in my podcast on Assassin bugs on Tongue in Cheeks
Interesting. But I would be concerned about these becoming invasive species in certain areas with any inexperienced owners.
Kenny That is always an issue to consider. Permits where applicable and careful attention to regulations for housing and disposal of substrate are key in preventing such issues.
@@Aquarimax I'm mostly hopeful that any breeders think about who they are selling this kind of animal to (and where that person lives). That would be the first line of defense. If everyone was as responsible as you (and many others like you) I wouldn't have any concern.
How frequently should you feed them?
Sturdy diamond 67 Ray said he feeds them about once a week.
Aquarimax Pets is that for the nymphs or adults
Where one someone purchase these?
Try www.bugsincyberspace.com
It's like a dark brotherhood cockroach.
Pedro Calebe 🤣
Another 5 star vid.
Glad to hear you enjoyed it 👍
Are these one of the species that can spread the parasitic protozoan infection American Trypanosomiasis also known as Chagas disease?
Peter JF as far as I know l, the only assassin bugs that do so are a tropical American subfamily.
@@Aquarimax Thanks.
No, only the subfamily Triatominae can do it
It looks scary.
I agree!
I got sprayed in the mouth one landed on my drink next to my bed in the middle of the nite I rolled over and grabbed my glass and I raised it my mouth omg what a smell what a taste I flip on the lite and the bug.. the next 30-45 min was the worst taste on my hands and the cup I has to throw out
Is there a possibility that these carry Chagas disease?
Tippy Jo As far as I know, only Triatomine assassin bugs carry that.
Only the Triatominae subfamily does it
A perment is need for these... Aphis does confenscate them from people time to time
AA SS good to know...something to keep in mind for those considering these
Looks like "barbeiro"
Is that what you call assassin bugs in Brazil?
@@Aquarimax Yes! Chupança is also a common name. There are actually quite a few different names for them, from very distinct regions. I guess no one here would like to keep them as pets tho, Triatoma Infestans (the most common one here) is very well known for carying the Tripanossoma Cruzi protozoary, which causes the Chagas disease.
Guix Ninja That would be a very good reason to avoid them! 👍
Is that how he Keep Them all the time ?
Theguywithyellowcap not exactly. He had to make some simplifications to transport the enclosure.
@@Aquarimax Ah Good to hear
Dude you look like Lionell Messi!
mrta dulla He is a much better soccer player though 🤣👍
That's a kissing bug
SlohcinCA related, but not the same genus or species.
looks like kissing bug
Armin Ebner They are related, but fortunately not carriers of the same illness.
I thought assassin bugs are a carrier of a deadly virus .
Any truth to that ?
Not all are, and only wild animals carry it.
Like I said in your other comment only the patasitic assassin bugs spread diseases
Phillip Keal A different family of assassin bugs does, but not these. 👍
You won't find a better pest management team for your garden.
Col. Ruby Dimples Manacha I hear that some species of assassin bugs are used to protect palm plantations from pest beetles.
The bald guy is coming off as a lazy caretaker.
That belongs on the bottom of my shoe
I have an all black assassin bug in my freezer. It bit me when I snagged it off my fiance with a tissue, and it made me super sick for a few hours. I had a high fever and was sweating like no other. Also felt like I was going to throw up. Now I see them in my house or outside my house I kill them. I would rather be stung in the eye lid by a big ol hornet again.
So why didn't you say that they can cause heart worms in humans, ultimately leading to DEATH!
The care in this video is completely off!! They need much more height!! They are an arboreal insect and moult hanging upside down..
And this species of assassin bug is only found in humid rainforest I heard. They should not be kept that dry. (other types of assassin bug can, but its not recommended with this species)
Ray has been producing generations of healthy horrid kings for a long time now. He must be doing something right. I think one of his main points in the video is that this is a very adaptable species from a variety of habitats.
@@Aquarimax In this setup I don't see anywhere any of them would be able to moult into an adult. They might be able to reproduce, but does that mean they are thriving?? The care Ray gives to his animals just seems so effortless.
I would prefer to use cork bark but egg flats work well. None of them are deformed from mismolts. I do like having taller egg flats but took them out for the video. There are springtails and isopods in the substrate so it’s moist deeper down
They’re Hemiptera...Hymenoptera is the order of wasps, bees, and ants which this is not. And while Hemiptera does mean half-wing, many of them can still fly, including most assassin bugs
Honestly I’d approach a lot of the information presented in this video that isn’t specifically pertaining to care with a grain of salt. Do your own research.
Prime135 1 Yes, that is why I added the text for ‘Hemiptera’ to correct the slip of the tongue. At least some of the assassin bugs native to my area, as well as many other Hemiptera can fly, that is true.
looks like a chagas bug to me. kill it.
Doug Matthews they’re both assassin bugs
That was what I was thinking.