this post was submitted on 23 Nov 2024
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A deer nibbled at my dragon fruit cactus, not Khorne. Assassin bugs are fantastic generalist predators and this nymph hitched a ride on my plants as I took them indoors for the winter. I'm keeping it around as pest control and hopefully some others will join it. Aphids for the Aphid God.

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[–] carpoftruth@hexbear.net 3 points 1 day ago (1 children)

Oh cool I didn't know assassin bugs were a whole class of bugs. I was at a museum recently and saw some but they were way more beetle-y looking than your pal khorne there.

[–] happybadger@hexbear.net 4 points 1 day ago* (last edited 1 day ago) (1 children)

I can't tell which species Khorne is, but the local one I see most often looks like this as an adult:

They're so neat. My pollinator gardens at work are full of them collecting exoskeletons for the exoskeleton throne.

edit: specifically Phymata americana. I think Khorne might be a Zelus luridus.

[–] carpoftruth@hexbear.net 3 points 1 day ago (1 children)

That's really cool. Bugs are so neat. They have such a crazy array of chemical weapons, defenses and tools

I'm pretty ok with my life but sometimes I wish I could go back in time and become a biologist instead of a life-enthusiast

[–] happybadger@hexbear.net 3 points 1 day ago (1 children)

I hate that my horticulture degree only included one entomology course which was half-assed. They're such a critical part of my work but a big blind spot for me scientifically.

[–] carpoftruth@hexbear.net 3 points 1 day ago

Luckily now you are making up for it with some half-assassins now