Reduvius personatus is a ‘true bug’ which, like other members of the order Hemiptera, undergo incomplete metamorphosis with eggs hatching into nymphs looking like miniature adults. Like the adults, the nymphs are predatory, feeding on small arthropods (like silverfish, earwigs, mites etc) by piercing their body with long beaks, injecting digestive enzymes, and sucking up the resulting liquid.
The nymphs of this assassin bug are known as ‘masked hunters’ because of their habit of camouflaging their body by exuding a sticky material to which layers of debris adhere. The camouflage may assist the nymph in avoiding detection by both predators and prey.
Although not widesoread in the UK, they can be found in Southern England.
This is a focus-stacked image.
