Spiny Assassin Bug

Sinea spinipes · Order: Hemiptera · Family: Reduviidae

No source yet on danger. We have no source yet on whether it bites, stings or damages anything.
Spiny Assassin Bug
Photo: Judy Gallagher, CC BY-SA

The spiny assassin bug lives along roadsides, at forest edges, and in open fields with scattered trees in the Midwest. It is a native North American species. In southern Illinois it produces only one generation each year.

Source: Wikipedia

Life cycle

In southern Illinois it has a single brood per year (univoltine).

Source: Wikipedia

Where it comes from

Native to North America.

Source: Wikipedia

Where it is found in the US

Recorded in 35 of 51 states and DC. Most records: Massachusetts, Virginia, Ohio, Mississippi, North Carolina, Maryland, Texas, New Jersey.

Darker = more records. Counts are museum and citizen-science records, not population size.

Source: GBIF

Months it is reported in the US

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Source: GBIF

More photos

Spiny Assassin Bug photo 3
Photo: lazarus, CC BY
Spiny Assassin Bug photo 4
Photo: Katja Schulz, CC BY
Spiny Assassin Bug photo 5
Photo: Katja Schulz, CC BY
Spiny Assassin Bug photo 6
Photo: Ken Clark, CC BY

Same family (Reduviidae)

North American Wheel BugNorth American Wheel BugArilus cristatusCan biteLeafhopper Assassin BugLeafhopper Assassin BugZelus renardiiCan biteMasked HunterMasked HunterReduvius personatusCan biteEastern Bloodsucking ConenoseEastern Bloodsucking ConenoseTriatoma sanguisugaCan spread germs or diseaseWestern Bloodsucking ConenoseWestern Bloodsucking ConenoseTriatoma protractaCan spread germs or diseasePale Green Assassin BugPale Green Assassin BugZelus luridusCan bite

Sources

  • Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sinea_spinipes

Look it up elsewhere: GBIF · iNaturalist · BugGuide · ITIS · Wikipedia

Text written 2026-10-22 from the sources above and checked sentence by sentence against them. Data fetched 2026-10-22.

How this page works

This is one bug's fact sheet. The colored box at the top says whether it is dangerous. Sections below cover how to recognize it, whether it is a pest, and how to deal with it. The US map shows which states have records; tap a state to see other bugs there.

Every fact on Bug FAQ comes from a named source (university extension sites, government agencies, GBIF, iNaturalist, Wikipedia). The source is linked next to each section. If we have no source for something, we leave it out.