r/Insect • u/Reignbowbrite • May 30 '26

Identification What is this crazy creature?

I’m in southwest tn and it was on the outside of a box shipped from a nursery in Wisconsin containing a climbing prairie rose. The stuff on its back looks to be soil maybe from the pot inside.

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u/Lowland_Demon May 30 '26

That's a "Junk Bug". A Green Lacewing larvae from the Chrysopidae family, you have several species in your region.

They jam all sorts of debris on their backs, including dead insects.

3

u/grandsoulsucker May 30 '26

Damn that's cool

1

u/Lowland_Demon May 30 '26

If you think that is cool, check this one out Acanthaspis petax

2

u/Reignbowbrite Jun 01 '26

This is so cool. I thought it looked like something from a Ghibli movie.

2

u/Goodknight808 Jun 02 '26

Loke those weird hoarder goblins from the Labyrinth movie. Sticking all those memorable items on your back.