Small ambush bug captures skipper

[rjlittlefield]

I was in my garden, searching on my wife's oregano hoping to capture the tiniest of flower-visiting flying things, when I was distracted by wild fluttering at the end of one branch.

The fluttering turned out to be a brown skipper, flailing around with its proboscis apparently held in the tenacious grip of a small ambush bug.

By the time I returned with camera equipment, the skipper had stopped moving and the ambush bug had reeled it in to feed.







--Rik

Canon T1i with Canon 580 EX II flash and small softbox, ETTL mode at f/11 and 1/200 second, ISO 100.

[Sym P. le]

Puts new meaning to cat's got your tongue.

[MarkSturtevant]

Good capture (for both you and the bug). I've never seen one actually grab anything, and it surprises me that they do since they don't seem at all fast.

[Lou Jost]

What an amazing disparity between predator and prey in body size, mass, and air resistance. The ambush bug must have very toxic venom?