170 



NATURE SKETCHES IN TEMPERATE AMERICA 



The Assassins in Lace 



I HE delicate white lace and peculiarly- 

 strong fragrance of the wild carrot blos- 

 soms are a great attraction to many- 

 insects. When viewing these exquisite 

 blossoms, who would think that a strange 

 association of assassins were harbored 

 therein. Yet here they live, ambush bug and spider, each 

 awaiting his turn to destroy the insect frequenters that chance 

 to visit these inviting blossoms. The flowers, supported on long 

 stems, present a beautiful appearance in the open field. The old 

 blossoms are quite easily distinguished from the younger ones 

 by the manner in which the former are drawn together to form 

 little "bird-nests," while the younger ones are flat on top. On 

 nearer approach, it is found that flies and small bees, drawn 

 hither by the scent, are nervously ravaging the sweets. 



At times it is at great cost of insect life that these sweets 

 are secured; not that the flowers have structures that would 

 harm the insects, but because of the presence of the assassins 

 hiding within. Close examination of these lace-like flowers 

 will almost invariably bring to light the deadly ambush bug. 

 (See photographic illustration.) Here he lies quietly in wait, 

 ready to seize the unsuspecting insect that alights on the flower. 

 At first the only evidence of his predatory instincts that appears 

 is the dead flies or bees, of various species, that lie upon 

 the surface of the flower. Or, perhaps, this bizarre assassin 

 may be found partly hidden in the margin of the flower, in the 

 very act of sucking the juices from one of his recent captives. 

 His sharp proboscis is used in penetrating the soft tissues of 

 insects between the head and thorax. One may see him choose 

 a point in his attack underneath the insect's body, between the 

 second and third articulations of the legs. 



I once found a dead bumblebee hanging from the underside 

 of a bergamot flower. On investigation, a concealed ambush 

 bug, covered by the flower, was holding the Bombus by his 



