Seeing Wheel Bugs in Your Garden? It’s a Good Thing!

You may have seen this around your garden and home and thought “eeewwww”, what is that ugly thing? That, my dear, is a wheel bug and not to be feared unless they bite you. They are a generalist predator and love to feast on the dreaded spotted lantern fly, which is a good thing! Often known as assassin bugs they sport a dagger-like, piercing-sucking beak. They feast on something small like an aphid right up to something the size of a caterpillars. The wheel bug can reach up to 1 1/2 inches in length but don’t mess with them because if they bite you they can pack quite a punch. Avoid using broad-spectrum pesticides because this is one bug you want in your garden. We’ve posted photos of wheel bug eggs compared to the eggs of the spotted lantern fly so you can identify the one to seek out and destroy. Photos courtesy of U. of Md. Entomology Dept.