We had a very interesting day this week because the entire group had the chance to collect assassin bugs for venom milking. We started the day by visiting the world renowned venom facility, IMB (Institute of Molecular Bioscience) at the University of Queensland. After a quick lecture about assassin bugs, we bussed out to the hot Australian bush and began our collecting. Insect venom is useful because we can analyze the proteins and use this information to design drugs and antivenoms. Collecting assassin bugs is not as hard as it sounds and despite the ominous sounding name, the assassin bug bite alone is not lethal to humans. They are often hiding under strings of tree bark that just need to be pulled back in order to see.
There are many species of these bugs although they all fall under the order Hemiptera. Assassin bugs have multiple kinds of venom that are produced under different circumstances. When the bug is stimulated with electricity, it’s posterior main gland secretes a venom high in proteases that are responsible for the liquefaction of prey. However, when the bug is harassed non-electrically, a different kind of venom that is less harmful is secreted through the anterior main gland. This is thought to be a defensive reaction that is not related to hunting. We did more than just catch assassin bugs and even caught some venomous caterpillars and spiders. Later in lab, we will extract the venom from the animals collected and perform bioassays. Bioassays allow us to measure the potency of the venom by injecting prey. Overall, even the most skittish people on the trip were delighted with their bug collecting and our lab will benefit from the variety of venom found at the sites.