Family
Reduviidae (Assassin bugs)
Rhynocoris ventralis. Photo: (c) Sam McNally, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC)
The Reduviidae are a large cosmopolitan family of the order Hemiptera (true bugs). They can be perceived as slightly unusual, but they are very common among the Hemiptera because almost all are terrestrial ambush predators (most other predatory Hemiptera are aquatic). The main examples of nonpredatory Reduviidae are some blood-sucking ectoparasites in the subfamily Triatominae. Though spectacular exceptions are known, most members of the family are fairly easily recognizable; they have a relatively narrow neck, sturdy…