Spined Assassin Bug

A traveling hunter, the prickly Spined Assassin Bug looks just as ferocious as its method for dispatching prey.

Spined Assassin Bugs are covered in pointy spines or spikes. The purpose of them may be to fend off predators. The ones on the front legs and the head may aid in subduing larger prey. These little spikes all over the body give the Spined Assassin bug a formidable appearance. This insect hides in plant foliage or on flowers, waiting for an insect to pass by it. The strong front legs grab the prey and a long fang at the mouth repeatedly stabs the insect to death with rapid piercing movements. If handled carelessly, this fang can prick human skin creating a mighty painful wound.

Look for this brown Spined Assassin Bugs on flowers in meadows, gardens, and flower beds. Turn over leaves carefully as they may be under them, hiding. Check inside blossoms, too.

Taxonomic Hierarchy

Kingdom: Animalia

Phylum: Arthropoda

Class: Insecta

Order: Hemiptera

Family: Reduviidae

Genus: Sinea

Species: diadema

Identifying Information

Scientific Name: Sinea diadema

Other Name(s): Crowned Assassin Bug, Spiny Assassin Bug, Common Brown Assassin Bug

Category: True Bug

Size (Adult; Length): 10mm to 15mm (0.39in to 0.59in)

Colors: brown

Descriptors: spiky, spiny, thorny, prickly, fang, biting

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Territorial Reach (A-to-Z)

Newfoundland and Labrador

Note: An insect's reach is not limited by lines drawn on a map and therefore species may appear in areas, regions and/or states beyond those listed above as they are driven by environmental factors (such as climate change), available food supplies and mating patterns. Grayed-out selections indicate that the subject in question has not been reported in that particular territory. U.S. states and Canadian provinces / territories are clickable to their respective bug listings.

Spined Assassin Bug (Sinea diadema)

A traveling hunter, the prickly Spined Assassin Bug looks just as ferocious as its method for dispatching prey.