White Spot Assassin Bug - Shepreth Wildlife Park

In the Wild:

These very active and aggressive predators have a venomous bite which they use to subdue their prey. They then drink through their rostrum. The assassin bug also spray their venom in defence which they aim towards the eyes of the threat. If the venom hits the eyes, it can cause temporary blindness. Only the adults have the two white spots which act as a warning to any potential predator that these insects are toxic. When they moult, they turn bright red which also acts as a warning.

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Quick Facts

Lifespan: 2 years
Distribution: West Africa
Habitat: Tropcial Forest

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WHAT PEOPLE ARE SAYING...

This was the third time that we have had the Shepreth outreach team visit us at school and it was an excellent visit as always. The team arrived on time and set up quickly. They had brought with them an excellent range of age appropriate animals and they were extremely knowledgeable and informative. The session was very ‘hands on’ and the staff were sensitive to the needs of the group that they were working with, tailoring questions to suit. The children all had a wonderful learning experience and were amazed by the animals, they were very excited by the opportunity to touch some extrelmely unusual species. It was a wonderful afternoon, enjoyed by all, and we will definitely be booking again next year!
I am writing on behalf of all at South Cambridgeshire Branch of Friends of Chernobyl’s Children to thank you for allowing our new group of children to visit Shepreth Wildlife Park yesterday.

Our chaperones for the day said how helpful your staff were in every way and that they spent a lot of time with the children showing them how to handle the animals and playing interactive games with them.

We really appreciate the fact that you have supported us every year for the last five years and twice this year, allowing both our summer group and autumn group to visit. In times of financial uncertainty it is becoming increasingly difficult for us to raise funds and so we really appreciate being able to not only come to the park and use all of your facilities, free of charge, but also that you provided lunch for the group, drinks and ice creams.

The children also loved the gift bags you gave them.

I visited Belarus in March to help select these children for our new programme and the situations they were all living in were very sad. This really special day and has given the children some lovely memories to take home with them. I know they will be looking forward to their visit next year.

Once again, thank you all so much for your support.
Please pass on a huge thankyou to Lainie who spent time with flynn today showing him the education room, the small insects and rats, and especially the time she spent showing him the tigers which were his worst fear!

Shepreth Wildlife park – thank you soo much you are brilliant! Would recommend to anyone!
The education team are truly inspirational and clearly love the job they do. The children and adults all had a great time and will have many memories of the animals they had a chance to meet and handle. Thank you so much for taking the time to incorporate polar bear into your session as this helped to make it a more purposeful session for the children. Seeing their faces when they saw the pictures from our story on your board was priceless! The children loved seeing all the animals around the park and I wish you had been there to see them ask ALL the animals “Do you want to be friends with Polar Bear” and when the animals ran off the children said ” We will take that as a no then”. We look forward to coming back in the future.