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Assassin / Plant Bugs

Assassin bugs capture other insects, often larger than themselves. They use their beak to siphon vital juices from their victims. There are 184 species in 49 genera north of Mexico. Worldwide there are more than 7,000 species in 1,000 genera arranged in 25 subfamilies.

Plant bugs are predominantly plant feeders but there are some that are predatory on other insects. There are about 1,930 species in 223 genera in North America. This is the largest family of bugs with more than 10,000 species in about 1,300 genera worldwide.

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