Suprathermal ions with arrival directions quite distinct from those of the solar wind have been detected upstream of the Venus bow shock. We examine the possibility that these events could be caused by instrumental of spacecraft effects of that they could be either solar wind disturbances, planetary pickup ions, or suprathermal ions upstream of the Venus bow shock and conclude that they are consistent with upstream suprathermal ions associated with the bow shock that are observed downstream from the points of intersection of their extrapolated trajectories with the shock. ¿ American Geophysical Union 1989