How assassin bug protects itself from predators in cloaks made from ants it has poisoned

Assassin bugs hide from potential predators using a camouflage cloak, made from the bodies of ants they have devoured, the Daily Mail reported.

The deadly insects paralyse their prey by injecting them with a toxic enzyme before sucking them dry.

They then pile the dried-out corpses on their sticky backs to act as a defence against other predators, such as jumping spiders.

Photographer Guek Hock Ping, 50, snapped various Assassin bugs - or Acanthaspis - parading their cloaks in Penang and Selangor, Malaysia.
 

He said: “I go to parks and forests for macro photography about once or twice or week. I found the Acanthaspis while I was out in the jungle.

“Their behaviour is absolutely fascinating.”
 

The bugs measure less than half an inch in length each and are usually found on plants and tree trunks, where there is a healthy supply of ants.

Guek, from Kuala Lumpur, added: “I spend about 30 minutes photographing these assassin bugs every time I find one.”

“I try to shoot as many shots as I can, from many different angles.”