What Am I?

Saturday was a nice sunny day. I was out on our deck enjoying the warm sunshine and apparently I was not alone. Also enjoying the sun on our deck was a cool looking bug. This is what he looked like.

Mom looked for him in the National Audubon Society Field Guide. It is a “wheel bug” or Arilus cristatus. I copied the following from the Field Guide:
Description: 1 1/8 – 1 3/8" Gray-brown to black. Prothorax raised into a curved series of coglike teeth along midline, inspiring the common name. Nymph is blood-red with black markings.
Habitat: Meadows and crop fields.
Range: East of the Rocky Mountains, from southern Canada south to the Gulf states.
Food: Caterpillars, even large ones including hornworms, Japanese Beetle larvae, and other insects.
Life Cycle: Eggs are laid in clusters on foliage. One generation a year.
This handsome predator can give a painful stab when it defends itself from a carless handler.”

I did not read the part about the painful stab until after I had captured and brought him in for Mom to see. Fortunately, I used a paper towel to handle him and did not get stabbed. When I saw the part about eating caterpillars and other insects, I wished we had lots more of these guys in the garden.