Assassin Bug
Adult, ventral
Ellura
Assassin Bug
Instar, profile
 
                      
Assassin Bug (Oncocephalus sp ES01)Class: Animals (Animalia) - Jointed Legs (Arthropoda) - Insects (Insecta)
Order: True Bugs (Hemiptera)
Family: Assassin Bug (Cimicomorpha, Reduviidae)     iNaturalist Observation
Species: Assassin Bug (Oncocephalus sp ES01)
This Photo:     Instar, dorsal

EXTRA - Photo Specific Information:
Visually there is no way to know if this instar is ES1, 2 or 3 as there are no wings to compare. It is the only instar we have of this genus. It would need to be raised to determine more closely what it is.
General Species Information:
Found on Ellura (in the Murray Mallee, SA) and elsewhere
Adult ~15mm long.
Interesting bugs Assassins (Reduviidae), one of the few predatory/carnivorous true bugs (order Hemiptera). Most are vegetarian.
One easy diagnostic difference over the similiar Alydidae family are the large front legs as can be seen here; used to hold it's prey. Not all assassins have them, but no Alydidae's do.
A more guaranteed diagnostic, but harder to see, is that Assassin's have a curved rostrum / proboscis

Copyright © 2015-2024 Brett & Marie Smith. All Rights Reserved. Photographed 18-Nov-2015
This species is an Australian Native Species, not listed in the SA Murray Mallee Survey of 2010.