The wheel bug is a marker species for organic gardens and farms.
Arilus cristatus is the apex predator among the insects in our garden, the lion on our little Serengeti. If you use pesticides, you kill too many insects to support a population of these predators. If you are in a garden and see wheel bugs, that’s strong evidence that you are in a place where poisons aren’t allowed.
I’m no entomologist, but the wheel bug is unmistakable. It has an appendage that looks like someone buried a toothed wheel or cog about halfway into its back.
We have enough of them to require occasional evictions from the greenhouse. I am called upon to do the evicting. The Wise Woman is the gardener, and she knows they are beneficial insects. She wants them moved, not killed.
She’s right to be cautious.
Wheel bugs don’t bite — they stab. Their proboscis is part spear, part hypodermic needle. The bug injects a toxin into its prey that dissolves animal tissue. Wheel bugs don’t attack humans, but they’ll stab you if you try to catch them. People who have been stabbed say it’s worse than getting stung by a hornet. I couldn’t say. I’ve been lucky so far.
• Note: If you don’t know this bug, there are some photographs and a short video clip at Professor Michael J. Raupp’s blog:
https://bugoftheweek.com/blog/2025/7/2/7zjt0gwtr40ro10qo8meibvhmuhhhz
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