Assassin bug nymph

5972   My name is Wendy. I live in Montreal and this bug was on my newly carpeted stairs inside my house. It was fairly large, about 3/4 of an inch.

This appears to be a nymph of Reduvius personatus, a peridomestic species of assassin bug (Hemiptera/Heteroptera: Reduviidae) known as the masked hunter. These are reported as having a very painful but not dangerous bite. See http://tinyurl.com/23g4bdy for more detailed information. Ed Saugstad, retired entomologist; Sinks Grove, WV.