Assassin bug
We share this planet with many different creatures and some of them can kill us. What are the figures in an average year? Coming in at Number 10 - it's lions...
| Animal | Humans killed per year |
| 10. Lions | 200 |
| 9. Hippos | 500 |
| 8. Elephants | 600 |
| 7. Crocodiles | 1,000 |
| 6. Scorpions | 3,300 |
| 5. Assassin Bugs | 10,000 |
| 4. Dogs | 59,000 |
| 3. Snakes | 138,000 |
| 2. Humans | 400,000 |
| 1. Mosquitoes | 725,000 |
Yes, that's right, the biggest killers of all are mosquitoes! I doubt that this will come as any great surprise to anyone.
The only killer on the list that I had not even heard of was the assassin bug. It spreads the deadly Chagas disease in parts of Central and South America. You can pick it up from bites or through the faeces of this dangerous creature. In fact, there around 7000 known species of the assassin bug and not all of them impact fatefully upon humans.
Actually, now that I have found out a little about assassin bugs, I realise that there is a whole lot more to know and no doubt there are entomologists who devote years to studying them. However, you will be delighted to learn that I have decided not to follow that path.
An assassin bug may use the corpses of its victims as camouflage
from Yorkshire Pudding https://ift.tt/2cuFiod