#leaf footed bug

Caine is a Giant Mesquite Bug nymph (Thasus neocalifornicus)!

Image source: https://www.knowyourinsects.org/Hemiptera1.html

A really cool true bug that was pointed out to me while out on a ranch! This guy looked really cool, and I really really like his little eyes. I think the coolest thing about him is the fact that the entomologist with us, who has a TON of field experience, said he didn't quite recognize the bug. It's cool to find something that a knowledgeable person can point to and say, "Ah! I recognize that!" But it's also cool to find something that somebody doesn't recognize and get to figure out what it is! In my case, "figuring it out" is simply uploading it to iNat.

Conifer Seed Bug - Leptoglossus occidentalis

Well, how about that? It appears that Stink Bugs weren't the only variety of robust insect to recently become active as the warmer weather returns to Toronto. And yet, it's inside the home that these insects were found, rather than the sunny outdoors. Such is sometimes the case with an insect like this one as throughout my life, I've found many insects who have lost their way and stumbled into my room. Conifer Seed Bugs are very much included in those findings and they have always made their presence known time and time again with their noisy flight and the occasional release of a green apple-scented odors. While startling in the moment, when the shock of finding a notable and interesting-looking Bug passes, it's good to know (in this instance) that the insect you've stumbled onto is a harmless vegetarian and tends to not jab using its rostrum unless absolutely certain of a threat. For ascertaining such threats, and also navigating an urban environment, Conifer Seed Bugs will make use of their relatively large eyes, secondary ocelli, and their long 4-segmented antennae. From my own interactions, Conifer Seed Bugs tend to hide away if they sense danger, or turn themselves around an object in order to avoid direct visual from a perceived threat. Other bedroom visitors looking to avoid the outside cold, such as the Masked Hunter, can be more predaceous or defensive and can thusly be more inclined to bite within a bedroom.

The similar body shape and overall proportions have anecdotally led the aforementioned hunter to be confused with the Conifer Seed Bug if the encounter was very brief. Looking at them more closely, a Masked Hunter is all-black Assassin Bug (Reduviidae) with uniform legs, whiplike antennae and a curved rostrum, while the Conifer Bug is a mottled Leaf-Footed Bug (Coreidae) has a mottled appearance with thickened hindlegs with a notable, leaf-like projection near the termination of that leg on the tibia. With regards to that projection, always take note of the shape and size of that structure when you observe it on any insect. That one observation can make all the difference when identifying Leaf-Footed Bugs which are similar in appearance. At least among the Coreidae members which actually have those protrusions; the family is quite diverse in terms of form and appearance, and some of them have rather skinny hindlegs. They will, however, tend to have a narrow head, and today's specimen certainly showcases that. I would've loved to share more angles of this Bug's head and overall form, but interior lighting conditions were not suitable for photography and the moment this individual made it to the rim of the glass (which it was caught and transported in), it flashed its bright yellow abdomen and flew away in the direction of a pine tree. And so, its springtime objectives begin/resume.