African Assassin Bugs- Platymeris species

   Commonly called African Assassin Bugs, there are three species in the hobby. P. biguttata is the White Spot African Assassin with 2 white spots on its wing-covers at maturity and orange-banded legs. P. rhadamanthus is similar in size, but red spots replace white spots. A third species, Platymeris sp. "Mombo" (from Mombo, Tanzania), is the largest and has orange spots and red-orange legs. Without legs or antennae it still measure over an inch and a half in length! They live for 2-3 years.

The aggressive feeding habits of these insects are very impressive and they're capable of taking down prey significantly larger than themselves (and they're pretty big bugs to begin with). The proboscis (also called rostrum), shown in the picture below, is used to stab and suck the fluids from other live insects.  It can also penetrate human flesh, and will cause significant pain.

Nymph of P. biguttata