Chris
Sorry your son was bit, that never feels good.
First of all, it is hard to ID insects to species from photos...there are millions of insects and many in the same Family can look very similar without seeing them in person or with a microscope.
Secondly, a smashed, twisted and not all there insect is even harder to identify :-) Third, this looks like a young or nymph not an adult insect which is even harder to ID, since it has not developed all the characteristics commonly known for ID.
With all that said I believe your insect is one of the beneficial true bugs for gardeners. As Rob suggested it might be an Assassin bug (Family Reduviidae)( it is not a wheel bug), but I think from the size, color, and shape it is a damsel bug from the Family Nabidae. Either way, both of these insects feed on pest insects. To feed on these pest insects they use piercing-sucking mouthparts that they poke into the insect and suck the juices from it. So, it is possible that if the insect somehow got under your son's shirt, as it was getting pushed on, it "bit" back in retaliation of getting smashed. They are NOT known to bite, but when mishandled might have strong enough mouthparts to bite tender skin.
Damsel bugs are found in fields and gardens. The adults overwinter in leaf litter. The warm weather had them out and about looking for lunch.
Glad to hear the bite cleared up quickly!...another indication that it was not an insect with toxic saliva.
Should you have other insects you need ID'ed please send in the photos. Hopefully it will not be one that has bitten or stung someone :-)
Thanks for using this site!
Insect bite by: Chris
My son seems to have recovered from the bite just fine, there is just a small red spot with a scab in the middle of it on him now. To be honest I have no idea how to identify an insect, that is why I posted it here hoping someone who knows something about insects might identify it for me. I would have no way fo knowing if it was from the assasin family or not. I am really just curious because I have never seen an insect like this before. Thanks for commenting.
Check the insect - is it from the Assassin Bug (Kissing Bug) family? by: Rob
Those can cause issues (maybe serious?) but I'm no expert.
Sometimes they can be in a nymph or young stage which makes them harder to identify.
I'll be someone here will comment.
Maybe edit your post with "Insect Bite" in the title to get more attention.
