Zelus is a genus

Genus

In biology, a genus is a low-level taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of living and fossil organisms, which is an example of definition by genus and differentia...

 of assassin bug family (Reduviidae), in the subfamily Harpactorinae

Harpactorinae

Harpactorinae is a large subfamily of the reduviid . About 300 genera and 2000 species worldwide have been described. Some of the species of the genera Zelus, Pselliopus, Sinea and Apiomerus are of interest as natural enemies of crop pests.-partial list of genera:*Acholla Stål, 1862*Apiomerus...

. There are currently 60 described species, most of which are found in Central and South America. Five species are present in North America

North America

North America is a continent wholly within the Northern Hemisphere and almost wholly within the Western Hemisphere. It is also considered a northern subcontinent of the Americas...

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Some species have been investigated for their potential as biocontrol agents in integrated pest management. Zelus is also known for a sticky trap predation strategy. Sticky resin produced from a leg gland is smeared on hairs to aid in prey capture. This is somewhat analogous to the carnivorous plant sundew

Sundew

Drosera, commonly known as the sundews, comprise one of the largest genera of carnivorous plants, with at least 194 species. These members of the family Droseraceae lure, capture, and digest insects using stalked mucilaginous glands covering their leaf surface. The insects are used to supplement...

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Partial list of Species

• Zelus annulosus
  Zelus annulosus
  Zelus annulosus is an assassin bug found in South America. It frequently associates with Hirtella physophora , a plant that houses colonies of plant-ants Allomerus decemarticulatus and provides the ants with nectar....
  
  
• Z. araneiformis
  Zelus araneiformis
  Zelus araneiformis is a species of true bug found in French Guyana. This species completes its development on Cecropia obtusa Aubl. , which is unusual for predatory assassin bugs. Other species of Zelus use sticky resins to aid in prey capture....
  
   Haviland
• Z. cervicalis
• Z. exsanguis
• Zelus leucogrammus (Perty, 1833)
• Z. longipes
  Zelus longipes
  Zelus longipes is an assassin bug that is a member of the subfamily. It occurs from the United States south to Central Argentina, especially in agroecosystems in Brazil....
  
   (Milkweed Assassin Bug)
• Z. luridus
  Zelus luridus
  Zelus luridus is a species of true bug . This species uses sticky traps as a predation strategy, which is also common to other species in the genus Zelus. The sticky material is produced by a gland on the leg. This gland develops in the second instar...
  
  
• Z. renardii
  Zelus renardii
  Zelus renardii is an assassin bug. First instar larvae have been observed to collect a sticky substance from their eggs and rub it on their legs, which improves predation success on flies....
  
   (Leafhopper Assassin Bug)
• Z. tetracanthus Stål, 1862