Reproduction

Reproduction of the Wheel Bug normally takes place in autumn. The female and male mate in the fall, and after the female lays the eggs the male sticks around to protect his kin from other wondering male Wheel Bugs. The female will lay 40 - 200 eggs in a hexagonal structure on trees, shrubbery or other locations. The eggs are cylindrical and brownish/black in color and are later hatched in the following spring. The nymph has a red abdomen and its thorax contains a black mark. The nymph molts five times before it reaches the adult stage of life, the nymph also does not have the iconic cog like structure on its abdomen.

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