The Lunenburg Public Library isn’t just a place for readers and a gathering spot for people—it’s also a community center for hundreds of fascinating, non-human visitors! Take a closer look… You never know who you might meet!
This Week’s Visitor
Assassin Bug
Library Status: Quiet summer predator
Favorite Section: Flower blossoms, especially those buzzing with visitors
Checks Out: Whatever wanders within reach
Superpower: Staying perfectly still and unnoticed until an unsuspecting insect comes close
Borrowed Knowledge: Powerful front legs built for grabbing prey. An ambush bug can capture insects much larger than itself.
Photo Credit: Gennifer Belt Bousquet
What’s happening in this photograph?
This assassin bug is eating lunch. Its unfortunate meal is a sweat bee that visited this flower looking for a tasty meal of nectar or pollen. The assassin was looking for a tasty meal too, but its preferred meal is a juicy insect!
Assassin bugs are predators in the Reduviidae family. They sit motionless among flowers, using their camouflage to disappear into the blossom. When prey comes close enough, they seize it with their muscular front legs and pierce it with their sharp, straw-like mouthparts, injecting an immobilizing toxin and digestive fluid into their prey.
Yikes!
Who Else Is Visiting the LPL?
The gardens surrounding the library provide food, shelter and nesting opportunities for native bees, moths, butterflies, beetles, flies, wasps, birds and many other wildlife throughout the year.
When you visit, imagine the remarkable story unfolding around you. Native plants and wildlife have evolved together over thousands of years, forming relationships that help each other survive. Every flower, leaf, seed, and visiting creature is part of that story. Together, they keep our local ecosystems healthy.
How to Explore the Gardens
You can get quite close to many of the flowers if you walk on the sidewalk, children’s path, and gravel walkways between the gardens and building.
As you explore:
- Look closely at flowers and leaves before moving on. Do you spot a visitor?
- Are there clues that someone has been there? Maybe the edge of a leaf has been nibbled or a leafcutter bee has cut a perfect round circle out of a smooth leaf.
- Notice which insects prefer which plants. Are some plants “busier” than others?
- Listen for buzzing and watch for movement and flashes of color.
- Take pictures and share what you discover with library staff!
Nature rewards patience. Some of our visitors are shy, so you may have to sit quietly for a few minutes—or even return another day—to meet them.
You may also want to try visiting at different times of day to discover even more. Some creatures are early risers, while others may not become active until later in the day or at night.
