Arilus cristatus 102313 AMB Herndon, VA

The wheel bug...of death. A very large bug whose impales other insects, injects liquids that dissolve the insides f the insect, and then sucks it back up. I have wondered, what if we used these same chemicals as tenderizers for meat or perhaps, if one were to get more into eating insects we presoaked grasshoppers or other things that are traditionally eaten...what would that taste like. So many things to learn from insects. Collected by Ashley Bradford, who lived to see another day. Photography Information: Canon Mark II 5D, Zerene Stacker, Stackshot Sled, 65mm Canon MP-E 1-5X macro lens, Twin Macro Flash in Styrofoam Cooler, F5.0, ISO 100, Shutter Speed 200. USGSBIML Photoshopping Technique: Note that we now have added using the burn tool at 50% opacity set to shadows to clean up the halos that bleed into the black background from "hot" color sections of the picture.