The Long-necked Seed Bug, Myodocha serripes, is a common insect in grassy areas of Indiana. These tiny bugs are often overlooked; they are less than 10 mm (3/8 inch) when full grown. The occasionally attract notice when very large populations damage strawberries.
Myodocha serripes is in the family, Rhyparochromidae which means “dirt-colored”. Many members of this family have an enlarged femur on the foreleg. A ventral spine near the leg joint gives this bug the look of a fierce predator that uses its front legs to grasp and hold prey. However, it does not use its front legs to hold prey. It isn’t predatory. It feeds on seeds. Taxonomists routinely comment on the enlarged femurs in this group of insects, but comment little on how the femurs are used.
Myodocha serripes is attracted to lights at night. This one appeared on our Black lighting cloth.
Long Necked Seed Bug
Living With Insects Blog 
A bit of nostalgia – I was pinning, or rather pointing, a Myodocha serippes while watching the first moon walk on tv. I remember writing that on the underside of the data label. At the time, I was under the misapprehension that the bug must be a predator. Now Neil Armstrong has died and no one has walked on the moon in a long time.
You are not alone in guessing that Myodocha is a predator. All the grad students on first glance thought ‘small predatory Reduviid. The forelegs are obviously adapted to grasp something. Do they grasp seeds when they eat?
With the digitization of collection information, I wonder if your note will make it online?
Do they bite? My dad got bit by one that looked like this one and would want to know the risks.
Umm. Maybe it was a pirate bug. Bugs a notorious for biting non-hosts. So it is possible. Any bug can pierce human skin but tiny ones don’t inject much saliva.
I was out looking for spiders last night and found these, instead. Lots of them, camped out on drying heads of mondarda. Perhaps every tenth head had one. One head had two. I might go out again tonight to see if they are up to anything interested in re forelegs. During the day they are elsewhere.
Monarda, that is.
Uhm, this thing happened to be in my car…Do things bite humans?
Sorry I meant do these things bite humans, and if they do are they poisonous? Thought I got it by one today, I am naturally afraid of bugs, so thanks.
Bit*
These are small, only about 1 cm. Any true bug can bite but these are not like mosquitos
I have a rectangular raised wood vegetable garden and yesterday noticed many of these insects in different stages of growth on the wood sections of it. Northeast Ohio
I found one crawling up my living room wall tonight, in upper east Tennessee. Glad to have found your website. Couldn’t find this little critter in Google images. I’m going to assume since nobody is answering, that these cannot poison a person (if we see more).
They are not poisonous. They don’t survive long indoors.
I see these little dudes in my kitchen when I do the dishes at night. They’re my favorite bug because I like how they look, they’re pretty friendly, and I see them often
Glad you like them. Not everyone appreciates them