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The Wild Pest
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Parasitic bugs

Every species in the Wild Files corpus where parasitic is a defining trait.

28 on file

On File
A common bed bug (Cimex lectularius), the apple-seed-sized parasitic insect.
Outlaw
Six Legs79
Alias
Cimex lectularius

Common Bed Bug

Survives a year without feeding. Has been with humans for 3,500 years. Wants nothing to do with you — except your blood.

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On File
An adult human botfly (Dermatobia hominis), a robust fly with iridescent body and short wings.
Apex Outlaw
Six Legs87
Alias
Dermatobia hominis

Human Botfly

Doesn't bite you. Hires the mosquito to deliver its eggs. Hatches under your skin.

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On File
A tarantula hawk wasp (Pepsis grossa) on a desert milkweed flower, iridescent blue-black with rust-orange wings.
Outlaw
Six Legs83
Alias
Pepsis grossa

Tarantula Hawk

Hunts tarantulas. Paralyzes them. Lays an egg inside the still-living body.

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On File
A jewel cuckoo wasp (Chrysis ignita), brilliant iridescent metallic blue and green body.
Curious
Six Legs77
Alias
Chrysis ignita

Jewel Cuckoo Wasp

Living jewel — iridescent blue, green, gold. Sneaks into other wasps' nests. Curls into a ball when caught.

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On File
A tsetse fly (Glossina morsitans) at rest, brown segmented body with hatchet-shaped wings folded over the abdomen.
Outlaw
Six Legs86
Alias
Glossina morsitans

Tsetse Fly

Reshaped the map of Africa. Gives birth to single larvae. Carries sleeping sickness.

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On File
A female velvet ant (Dasymutilla occidentalis), fuzzy red-and-black wingless body that resembles a large ant.
Outlaw
Six Legs84
Alias
Dasymutilla occidentalis

Velvet Ant ('Cow Killer')

Not an ant. Wingless wasp. Sting painful enough to be called 'cow killer.' Indestructible armor.

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On File
An eastern cicada killer wasp (Sphecius speciosus), large yellow-and-black body with reddish thorax, transparent wings.
Curious
Six Legs71
Alias
Sphecius speciosus

Eastern Cicada Killer

5 cm wasp. Hunts cicadas. Drags 2× her body weight home. Almost never stings humans.

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On File
A black-legged deer tick (Ixodes scapularis), small reddish-brown body with dark legs.
Outlaw
Six Legs81
Alias
Ixodes scapularis

Black-Legged (Deer) Tick

Cements herself to your skin for 3 days. Carries Lyme disease. Range expanding north 50 km a decade.

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On File
A varroa mite (Varroa destructor) on a honey bee, small reddish-brown shield-shaped body.
Apex Outlaw
Six Legs78
Alias
Varroa destructor

Varroa Mite

1.6 mm parasite. Single greatest threat to global honey bees. Costs beekeepers $2B a year.

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On File
A European mantispid (Mantispa styriaca), small mantis-mimic neuropteran insect with raptorial front legs, triangular head with prominent forward-facing eyes, and four membranous wings, six legs, side profile.
Curious
Six Legs81
Alias
Mantispa styriaca

European Mantispid

European mantis-mimic LACEWING. Larvae burrow into SPIDER EGG SACS and eat the developing spiderlings.

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On File
A Pseudacteon obtusus fly, tiny dark phorid fly with distinctive hump-backed thorax and prominent eyes, six legs, side profile.
Outlaw
Six Legs89
Alias
Pseudacteon obtusus

Ant-Decapitating Fly

Tiny parasitoid fly. Larva DECAPITATES fire ants by consuming brain and pupating in detached ant HEAD.

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On File
A bat fly (Megistopoda aranea), small dark fly with large grasping legs, small eyes, and flattened spider-like body, six legs, top view.
Curious
Six Legs80
Alias
Megistopoda aranea

Bat Fly

EXCLUSIVE bat parasite. Lives entire adult life on bat bodies. Spider-like flightless flies.

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On File
A tongue-eating louse (Cymothoa exigua), pale gray-pink segmented isopod with hooked legs and piercing mouthparts, fourteen legs, top view.
Outlaw
Six Legs85
Alias
Cymothoa exigua

Tongue-Eating Louse

Severs a fish's tongue and PERMANENTLY REPLACES it with her own body. Only known parasite that replaces a host organ.

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On File
A female American dog tick (Dermacentor variabilis), reddish-brown tick with small ornate white-or-gray dorsal scutum behind the head, eight legs, top view.
Outlaw
Six Legs83
Alias
Dermacentor variabilis

American Dog Tick

Major NA vector of Rocky Mountain spotted fever. Also tick paralysis. Wood-tick of NA hiking trails.

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On File
A female lone star tick (Amblyomma americanum), small reddish-brown tick with a single large white or silver 'lone star' spot in the center of the dorsal scutum, eight legs, top view.
Outlaw
Six Legs85
Alias
Amblyomma americanum

Lone Star Tick

Bite makes you ALLERGIC TO MAMMALIAN MEAT. Alpha-gal syndrome — discovered 2009.

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On File
A spring azure butterfly (Celastrina ladon), small bright sky-blue butterfly with pale blue-gray undersides marked by small dark spots, side profile.
Beneficial
Six Legs71
Alias
Celastrina ladon

Spring Azure

Bright sky-blue 'blue' butterfly. Emerges in EARLY spring. Larvae tended by ants for sweet secretions.

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On File
A giant tachinid fly (Tachina grossa), large jet-black fly with orange-yellow head and stiff bristly setae across the body, six legs, side profile.
Beneficial
Six Legs85
Alias
Tachina grossa

Giant Tachinid Fly

8,200+ species, all parasitoids of other arthropods. Free natural pest control.

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On File
A cattle warble fly (Hypoderma bovis), brown-and-yellow medium-sized fly resembling a small honey bee, six legs, side profile.
Outlaw
Six Legs84
Alias
Hypoderma bovis

Cattle Warble Fly (Heel Fly)

Larvae burrow into cattle legs, migrate ALONG THE SPINAL CORD, and exit from 'warbles' on the back.

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On File
A large bee fly (Bombylius major), small fly with dense brown-and-black fur covering the body, transparent wings with dark front-edge bands, and very long thin proboscis projecting forward.
Curious
Six Legs79
Alias
Bombylius major

Large Bee Fly

Fly that mimics a bumblebee. FLICKS her eggs into bee burrows from above. Long hovering proboscis.

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On File
A cluster fly (Pollenia rudis), dark gray-brown fly with golden-yellow short hairs across the thorax, six legs, side profile.
Outlaw
Six Legs78
Alias
Pollenia rudis

Cluster Fly

Larvae burrow INTO living earthworms. Adults form thousands-strong winter aggregations in attics.

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On File
A cuckoo bumblebee queen (Bombus vestalis), large bumblebee with dark sclerotized body, golden-yellow thorax, and reduced hair compared to true bumblebees, six legs.
Curious
Six Legs79
Alias
Bombus vestalis

Cuckoo Bumblebee

Bumblebee that abandoned workers. Invades host bumblebee nests, kills the queen, takes over the colony.

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On File
A horse bot fly (Gasterophilus intestinalis), brown-and-yellow medium-sized fly resembling a small honey bee, six legs, side profile.
Outlaw
Six Legs85
Alias
Gasterophilus intestinalis

Horse Bot Fly

Lays eggs on horse's front legs. Horse licks. Larvae develop in mouth, then attach to stomach wall for 10 months.

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On File
A male common blue butterfly (Polyommatus icarus), small butterfly with brilliant iridescent sky-blue wings and thin black borders, dorsal view.
Beneficial
Six Legs76
Alias
Polyommatus icarus

Common Blue Butterfly

Brilliant sky-blue. 75% of her family lives in mutualism with ants. Caterpillar feeds ants honeydew.

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On File
A mantisfly (Mantispa styriaca), slender pale green body with raptorial green forelegs, four translucent veined wings folded back, six legs total.
Curious
Six Legs85
Alias
Mantispa styriaca

Mantisfly

Lacewing that evolved into a mantis. Larva hitchhikes on spiders to eat their eggs.

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On File
A cuckoo bee (Nomada panzeri), small slender wasp-like bee with reddish-orange abdomen and yellow markings, six legs, side profile.
Curious
Six Legs81
Alias
Nomada panzeri

Cuckoo Bee

Lays eggs in other bees' nests. Larvae kill the host larva and eat her food. 15% of all bee species do this.

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On File
An emerald cockroach wasp (Ampulex compressa), brilliant metallic emerald-green body with bright orange thighs, transparent wings, six legs, side profile.
Curious
Six Legs89
Alias
Ampulex compressa

Emerald Cockroach Wasp (Jewel Wasp)

Stings the cockroach's BRAIN. Cockroach becomes zombie. Wasp leads her by the antenna into the grave.

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On File
A tobacco hornworm caterpillar (Manduca sexta), bright green body with seven white diagonal stripes and a red horn projecting from the rear, on a green tomato leaf.
Outlaw
Six Legs84
Alias
Manduca sexta

Tobacco Hornworm

10 cm green caterpillar with red 'horn.' Major model organism. Devastates tomato gardens.

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On File
A red velvet mite (Trombidium holosericeum), bright crimson-red velvety body with eight short legs, on dark soil substrate.
Beneficial
Six Legs76
Alias
Trombidium holosericeum

Red Velvet Mite

Crimson velvety mite. Appears in masses after rainstorms. Predator and traditional Indian medicine.

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