Giant Water Bug – Toe Biter
[Scene: my office, afternoon of May 21. The phone rings]
Me: Hello?
Sam: Dad! Mom caught a GIANT WATER BUG! She tried to pick it up, and it GRABBED her! She shook it off, and caught it in a DIAPER! We put it in a jar! It’s GIANT!
Me: Wow!
Sam: Well, OK. Bye! [click, hummmmmm][1]
Sam and her bug in a jar
A minute later S_ called back to give the details, and Sam had the story substantially correct. They had just pulled out of the grocery store parking lot, when S_ saw what she thought at first was a small bird fly by, until it landed on the road [2] in a very un-birdlike way and she realized it was a very large insect. So she jumped out of the car[3], and caught it pretty much the way Sam described. Then she drove home with the diaper-wrapped[4] bug in one hand, feeling it squirm around forcefully from time to time. Once they got home, she popped it into a mason jar with a screen lid, and that’s about the time that Sam called me.
Sam wanted to keep it as a pet, so once I got home, I took Sam to Wal-Mart and picked up a small 1-gallon aquarium kit. We also picked up a feeder goldfish. Then we set up the tank, made sure the lid was on and the aerator was working, put in the water bug and the goldfish, and watched.
Nothing much happened for a long time, other than the fish swimming around and the bug periodically moving from one perch to another, and finally we went to bed.
The next morning around 5:00, I heard Sam yelling from her room, so I went to see what was wrong. At first I thought she’d been scared by a bad dream, but then I realized that . . . something . . . was making a scrabbling noise from her yellow toy bin. So I went over to look, and . . . there it was. The giant water bug was in the bottom of the bin, scrabbling to try and get out. The thing is, Sam’s room is at the extreme other end of the house from where the aquarium is, so the bug had to get out of the aquarium (by squeezing through the opening in the lid that the aerator tube passed through), then fly the entire length of the house, then crawl under Sam’s door (which was closed), and then fly again to fall into the toy bin. It’s easy enough to see how it did it, but the why is another question.
Anyway, I got it back into the aquarium easily enough, and put a largeish rock on the lid to keep the bug from getting out again[5]. Later that morning after I’d gone to work, the bug finally took an interest in the goldfish, and ate it. S_ got some good pictures of the event. She says that the bug first bit the fish in the eye, which I expect dissolved its brain[6] and killed the fish almost instantly.
Then it settled down to inject digestive fluids into the fish body proper and suck out its insides. S_ says that it would stab a spot, suck for a while, then move to another spot and start again while the fish gradually deflated.
So. This is clearly a giant water bug. Given the size (about three inches long), it is most likely one of the six species in the genus Lethocerus. I think it’s either the regular American Toe-Biter Lethocerus americanus, or maybe the Eastern Toe-Biter, Lethocerus griseus. There’s supposed to be a groove in the front femur of Lethocerus americanus that is characteristic of the species, but I can’t quite tell if it is there or not. Giant water bugs are among the largest insects in North America, and reportedly quite tasty (the ones in Asia are even bigger, and are often eaten). The ones in North America live for about two years, starting out as small nymphs that prey on other small arthropods, but eventually graduating to eating minnows by they time they reach adulthood. They overwinter as adults (which is why this one turned up so early in the year), and lay their eggs in the spring and summer. In some species, the females lay their eggs on the back of the male, and he looks after them until they hatch, but other species lay their eggs on weeds in the water.
The giant water bugs do not breathe water, they trap an air bubble under their wings and breathe from that. Periodically, they will refresh their air supply by poking the tip of the abdomen through the surface, pushing out the stale air, and pulling in fresh air, like it is doing here:
That air bubble makes them very buoyant. Ours has to either swim hard, or hang onto something to stay submerged, otherwise it pops right to the surface. Once it gets out of the water, the skin is so water-repellent that the water beads up and runs off immediately. They fly pretty strongly, and given how we found this one, they are obviously pretty mobile – the nearest body of water substantial enough to support appropriate prey for a giant water bug was about a half-mile away from where it was found.
They make pretty cool pets, but I’m not so sure I would say they are good pets. Keeping it in goldfish is a bit more expensive than keeping a spider supplied with flies and crickets, and they are really prone to escaping if there is any opening in the lid of the aquarium that they are kept in. And the way that they get around the house once they escape, combined with the potential for a very painful bite if you, say, step on one, suggests that maybe other arthropods are a better choice for a pet.
UPDATE: I was given a dead (but fully intact) giant water bug to photograph in March 2012, and here are some more-detailed pictures of particular parts of its body that we didn’t get a good view of with the live one.
—-
[1] Phone conversations with a 3-year-old can be a bit abrupt.
[2] We have the ideal conditions for road mirages right now (pavement heating in the sun with cooler air), so it often looks like the pavement is covered with water. S_ thinks that the bug mistook a road mirage for a small pond, and tried to land in it.
[3] Interestingly, nobody in the cars stopped behind her blew their horn at her or anything. I expect they were probably sitting there watching, and wondering “what on earth is going on there?”
[4] Yes, it was a clean, unused diaper. It was for Sam’s younger sister, incidentally.
[5] At the time, I thought that it had pushed the lid up and squeezed through, so the rock seemed like a good idea. But then, it got out again the next night, so I checked more carefully and found that the hole in the lid was wider, and the bug was narrower, than I had thought. So, we covered the hole in the lid with tape, and now the bug stays inside at night (although it still crawls up and claws at the lid when it gets dark).
[6] Like assassin bugs, giant water bugs inject digestive fluids into their prey to liquefy the insides, and then suck up the resulting slurry. Their bite is reputed to be extremely painful. Not so much because it is an actual venom[7], but because it is dissolving your flesh. This one later ate a second goldfish, and did the same thing – stab through the eye first, then go to the body proper. So, it looks like biting the eye first is no accident, but is a behavior evolved specifically to kill the fish as quickly as possible.
[7] Venoms, like bee venom, often have compounds that specifically cause pain by activating your nerve endings, but a lot of venoms don’t actually cause all that much gross physical damage to your tissues. Giant water bug bites are not like that at all. They are more like an internal acid burn.
Comments are closed.
I would guess that the quick kill is designed to prevent injury from a flopping fish.
As for the movement of the bug from the aquarium to your daughter’s room, I am deeply concerned by this. I believe the bug worships your daughter as a goddess. If this spreads to other bugs, you may have a problem. Just imagine the hordes of arthropods that will descend on her dinner plate to protect her when she is offered brussel sprouts.
You might want to take precautions now.
Fantastic story! I’m a big fan of giant water bugs. On night-time walks around ponds in California, I would regularly see them eating adult pacific chorus frogs.
Tim,
This is absolutely my favorite set of pictures on the website so far. Amazing, from the cringe-inducing eye-stabbing shot to Sam obviously loving her new “pet”.
Very nice job.
Andy
Yes, isn’t that eye-stabbing shot great? (I can say that in this case, because Sandy took the picture). Come to think of it, Sandy took about half of the pictures this time. I need to get her taking more.
And KT, it would be incredibly cool if Sam became the Goddess of the Arthropods. I would just hope that she used her powers for good, and not for evil.
How cool. Great story, great pix.
Wow, so are you going to keep feeding it goldfish? I wouldn’t think it was worth it, since the bug is kind of gross.
While a giant unusual bug is cool, I’m not so sure it’s cool to teach a small child to get exciting when one animal kills what most people keep as pets (goldfish). Is the lesson that it’s cool to see different ways a fish can die? What’s to stop a child from killing a few of the fish herself for fun? Or is the lesson that it’s ok to take animals out of the wild and keep them… what’s next a pet deer? Please consider releasing this wild creature back where it belongs and getting the little girl a pet that will teach her something besides violent death is cool.
calico,
Speaking as the parent of a 4-year old girl (and not the one in this article):
>I’m not so sure it’s cool to teach a small child to get exciting when
>one animal kills what most people keep as pets (goldfish).
I just yesterday was asked by my daughter when we went to the zoo, “What do fish eat?” I told her seaweed, bugs, and smaller fish. She said, “Other fish? Really?” …then absorbed the information and we moved on. I don’t think there’s a problem teaching children about predator/prey relationships. At what age do you think this would be appropriate? Besides all that, haven’t you ever gone fishing?
>Is the lesson that it’s cool to see different ways a fish can die?
I think if you’ve read this article, and the other articles in this site mentioning the little girl featured above, you’ll know that’s not the case. Like her mom and dad, she’s extremely interested in animals, the physical world and (whether she realizes it or not) science.
>What’s to stop a child from killing a few of the fish herself for fun?
Her parents, and the morals they teach her.
>Or is the lesson that it’s ok to take animals out of the wild and keep them…
Why is it bad to take animals out of the wild and keep them? One of my first pets growing up was a turtle. Found it in a local stream.
I respectfully propose you’re blowing the situation out of proportion. In today’s world, there are a lot worse parenting issues to worry about than whether or not a child has an interest in bugs. Heck, I’d encourage such behavior in my own kids – what an opportunity to teach them about the world!
Andy
Yeah, we’d like to let the little guy go and make lots and lots of babies (since water bugs are not just cool, but, as I’ve come to appreciate, beautiful in their own right). We’re going to hold onto him until after we give our annual insect presentation to children at the local library. After that, he’ll be ceremoniously released in some stagnant water where, hopefully, he’ll have the sense not to fly off and land in one of busiest intersections in the county (again).
I for one welcome our new insect queen. I never smoosh bugs unless they attack me, I hope that Sam’s legions show me mercy when they come to rule this planet. (as if they don’t rule already by every objective measure) Is her middle name Hellstrom?
I have the say the look of glee on that little girl’s face when she’s looking at what is aesthetically speaking a 3 inch roach is absolutely phenomenal.
Ignore the nay sayers, as of this story and the photos it is clear that there are some awesome parents here.
Aside from the pain studies that show fish basically don’t feel it, I find it very gratifying to know that the species immediately kills the fish, probably faster than a human could in fact without utterly destroying the thing, as opposed to something like a wasp or spider that for whatever reason has to keep it’s food ‘fresh.’
I’m sure Sam’s been alerted to the fact that she can study/collect insects as a career. Keep her interested before the “eww it’s a bug” thing sets in, which if my experience is any indicator will happen.
Useless trivia: Scully actually ate that roach in that xfiles episode with the carnival performers. 🙂
Moral of the story? Women who like bugs become FBI agents.
Awesome!! I have two empty aquariums in the basement. Time to fill them up with some cool bugs like this one.
Excellent stuff – as a parent of 2 young boys as well as a biologist, I think this is an amazing learning opportunity for your daughter. Keep up the good work!
That’s so cruel. Let it back into the wild.
Destroy them. Destroy them all while we still can.
Very cool!
I used to catch water bugs as a kid. But they were never larger than one inch. I fed them tiny bits of sausage and bread. And they escaped a lot. Still, it was a lot of fun watching them.
I love seeing weird bugs, but the whole stabbing eyes and injecting flesh melting poison into the brain combined with said bug travelling across the house to your little girl’s bedroom in the middle of the night is a bit freaky.
You don’t even seem concerned about the fact you brought this obviously dangerous creature into the house where your kids are, and then found it had gone to all that trouble to get to your little princess.
How will you feel if you wake up to a blood curdling scream and find the thing chewing our little Sam’s eye while her brain melts?
Sorry to be a kill joy, but wtf dude? You put that thing in the same house as your daughter and it got into her room, and you kept it?
I’m all for learning and science, teaching kids about the world, but that’s scary. I hope for her sake that thing doesn’t consider her a threat or a source of food. Creatures like that don’t stop hunting when they are full. They attack all food sources because they have to to survive in the wild.
KILL IT WITH FIRE!
Thanks for all the comments, everybody!
A few people have been concerned about either (a) the danger of keeping this, or (b) the cruelty of keeping it. First point first: it is dangerous to small animals like fish, but aside from the bite being painful they aren’t really dangerous to humans. It’s not as if they seek out people to bite, after all. They’ll bite if handled roughly, or probably if stepped on, but they don’t gratuitously go for people’s eyes. Remember this is extreme northern Michigan, not the tropics – even the “most dangerous” insects here are not really more than annoyances. And if Sam had wanted to get rid of it, we would have, but she didn’t and so we didn’t.
As for the “cruelty” aspect, I don’t think we are being cruel to the bug (and in fact, S_ saved it from being run over by traffic). In the wild, they hang out in protected areas and wait for something to eat to swim by. In the aquarium, it hangs out in protected areas and waits for something to eat to swim by. I can’t really say that I see the difference (aside from the risk in the wild of being eaten by something else), and I expect the bug doesn’t see a difference either. And as for the fish, whether in the wild or in the tank, it would be eating fish in about the same quantity. These fish we give it are sold by WalMart as “feeder goldfish” for about 25 cents each. It says right on the tank that they are mainly intended for feeding to larger fish. These fish are going to get eaten anyway, so why not by our bug? And up until they meet their end, they get treated as well as any goldfish does.
And a note to “ummm….” above: it doesn’t “attack all food sources”. It seems to have settled down to one fish per week or so, and ignores the fish the rest of the time. It’s not some ravening monster that lays waste to all around it, it’s just a bug. I think you’ve been watching too many horror movies.
First off, wow. I have a 5 and 9 year old. I get them the cool bug collecting tips, and take them to work with me so they will be plenty bored enough to go out and HUNT bugs. Nothing, nada, zip. Oh well. Good for you and your interested kid.
Secondly, wow. Some people commenting on this need to get a sense of perspective and get out of the house and see something not on the internet. It’s a bug. It bites. Every bug I’ve ever picked up bites. A lot of them don’t hurt, some are painful. Kids need to learn about pain, and the bug isn’t what a philosopher might consider an great experiencer. He’s as happy in an aquarium as he is in a pile of poop or on a bank or under a foot. Sometimes they are alive, and then at some point they are not. That’s their entire lives level of experience. The least we can do as parents is impart some bit of knowledge of the world to our kids and in the process teach them about the compassion that is NOT STEPPING ON THE GIANT FREAKING COCKROACH.
I have to agree with Tim and twomonkeysayso: You people need to lighten up and get some perspective. There is nothing cruel being done. Cruel is a lion ripping out a zebra’s throat while it still breathes as another lion rips into its loins. We won’t be asking the lion to give up eating meat anytime soon. But somehow the bug is being treated poorly by being fed, kept safe, and allowed to do what bugs do.
Most bugs are at the bottom of the food chain, anyway, and would end up as someone else’s meal. Not this guy. He’s been saved and will probably live longer than 99% of water bugs. Oh, the horror.
As for the girl’s safety, good grief. It’s a water bug, not a malaria-infested mosquito. No one put piranhas in the bathwater.
Everything in moderation, people. Wantonly killing living things, even bugs, is not cool. The other end of the spectrum, wherein all things are too dangerous for our little kids to experience so lock them up, is also not cool. I hope my kids are lucky enough to be interested in bugs, even if that means they get bit once in awhile. I got blasted by a jellyfish once while snorkeling in South Carolina. I’m still alive. It hurt for a little while, then it went away. Didn’t affect my interest in animals, but only happened because I was already out exploring. I could have been kept out of the water as a precaution, but then I never would have developed an intense interest in snorkeling, scuba diving, etc. Price of doing business.
My chair is made of leather.
Our Maximum Leader, seen here in an exciting action photo, has teeth and claws which she uses at will against insects, rodents, avians and the human members of her family. She is undeniably a predator and demonstrates it at all times and yet we not only let her live with us, but we actually praise her for her exploits.
Well, to be honest, she demonstrates her predatory behavior at all times she isn’t completely unconscious like some kind of giant, slovenly, furry blob.
Wow! I’ll have to watch out for those things, although I’ve never seen any in my neck of the woods (WA state).
I assume you’ll let the bug back into the wild at some point? 🙂
Fascinating story and insect! I am ambivalent about the concept of keeping the critter. I do believe that it is instructional, informative, and entertaining and the people in this household obviously know how to care for it.
I’m also aware of the problems of taking animals out of the wild, both from an individual standpoint (do you really know how to reproduce the proper environment to keep wild caught creatures alive and healthy) and from the standpoint of the local population of the particular creature. For example, local turtle populations can be wiped out by little Johnny and his friends deciding that they want box turtles as pets.
Insect populations aren’t necessarily as fragile as vertebrate ones, but it should be considered as a lesson to learn: catch and release.
Thanks for the story!
I think Sam is a very lucky little girl to have parents as cool as hers are.
Yes, hopefully she will use her powers for good!
>How will you feel if you wake up to a blood curdling scream and find the thing >chewing our little Sam’s eye while her brain melts?
OMG, that is the MOST amusing thing I have read in a long time. Thank you for bringing a smile to me during my comprehensive exam week. And just to be safe, next time I walk out in the woods I’ll make sure my feet never touch the ground, in case some ticks land on me, suck all my blood and leave me for the wolves.
Tim, you’re awesome, and Sam is a great kid. Keep up the awesome collecting!
In retrospect, I suppose since ticks drop onto people and are seldom on the ground, I should be more concerned with brushing up against leaves. Don’t want to post bad bug info on a bug site! Sorry!
What a fascinating thing you are doing. Citizen Scientists are the best. I am in shock of the naysayers! What do you want to bet at least one of them has an outdoor cat that wreaks havoc on birds and lizards and butterflies and other insects in the community. That is the epitome of cruel and wasteful death. I also know a lot of people that would consider having a goldfish as a pet in a small bowl for their personal enjoyment cruel as well. Next time they get a chigger bite – maybe they can better understand what the waterbug does – chigger nymphs also inject an acid into your flesh and then suck it up. You guys are awesome!
PS – I found your site through the Nature Blog Network’s featured blog. If you haven’t discovered Doug Taron’s blog “Gossamer Tapestry” you should visit. He is an entomologist and very handy at ID’ing insects. He’s also a tiger beetle and butterfly specialist.
Thanks for stopping by, TR! I actually read all of the blogs in the “invertebrates” category on the Nature Blog Network at least occasionally, although now that there are over 40 it is harder to keep up. Back when I first joined the Nature Blog Network about two years ago, I think there were only three or four of us listed under “invertebrates”.
An update: we kept the bug until our presentation at the Portage Lake Library on June 22, where it was one of the hits of the evening. Afterwards we took it up to Boston Pond, a small, shallow body of water where there are lots of water weeds and minnows, but no large fish (they are seriously stunted by the shallowness of the water, I think). It is a fine environment for a giant water bug, and I think it will be very happy there.
Huge water beetle!!I seen one when i went fishing in a creek could not believe the size of it!!!I wouldnt want to have that crawling on me yuk!!
Love,love love it! Sam will be the coolest bug queen ever.Being a clever bug queen myself,I applaud your efforts to teach Sam about the world.I still think it’s kinda icky how it feasts,but still cool for her.(what did she name the minion?)I too have strted with our own 3 year old in respecting the wild things.We reign supreme in our house because daddy calls us to come get the willy things!
I found one of these in my backyard pool. It scared the living daylights out of me. I had never seen a bug like this. I am from the caribbean and I have had my share of cockroach experiences but this bug was BIG. AND it had extendable arms!! For a year I spoke about this bug to friends and explained it (moving arms, stick in back, 3 or more inches long, dived like an expert whenever it saw us) and they all thought I was crazy.
Finally a friend in Florida told me what it was. I could not believe it. PLUS it freaking bites! It makes sense now since I live in Rochester NY and close to Canada. The bugs are mainly found in the north east. It’s Canadian, eh! I feel sorry for them. And here I thought living up north would get me away from big bugs… oh nooooo!
Oh, I had nightmares about that bug for days. I hate the look of them because they remind me of cockroaches on steroids. The fact you have one in your house and that it escaped the confinements you put it in freaks-me-out. They say cockroaches bite. This one KILLS FROGS! Jeez, get that away from your family! LOL! NAAAAASSSTYYYY!
Hey, great story. My son Cole and I just caught a wheel bug and tried to feed it a stink bug. Anyway, we were reading about bugs tonight at bedtime, and read about the toe biter. We googled it, and found this great story. Thanks for writing it and documenting the details.
You are a good story teller, and we will check back for more later. Thanks!
Wow its huge. Cool article too.
O M G O M G O M G what in the earth is that!I am going to fate any seconde!!! Im going to call 911 every time! But if i buy that what ever it is i will be rich$$$ Im still going to fate 100%! And its kinda cooooool!
I remember these bugs when I was little living in Okeechobee Florida! I have seen them at the car wash after everyone came back from fishing or mudding in the swamps! We always called them Gator Bugs! They are some ugly bugs! When u crush them with ur foot everything crunches! They are hard to stomp to death! When they fly u better duck! When u see them dont touch them they bite! Read up on them!
Any idea what the lifespann of these creatures is?
From what I’ve read, it sounds like they live a bit over a year. The eggs are laid in spring and early summer, they mature by fall, then overwinter as adults. Although, ours was still going strong by the end of June, so it is possible that the adults might live out the whole summer, in which case they might go for as long as a year and a half.
how many centimetres long and wide is it?
I didn’t get exact measurements, but relative to the size of the jar in the first picture, I’d estimate it at around 7-8 cm long and about 2-3 cm wide.
my mom found one in here pool skimmer. poor mom scared to death of bugs and mice. with here eyes not so good any more she thought it was a mouse running at her. my sister killed it with a shovle. it took an hour for mom to claim down because of the mouse but when we told her it was a bug she now wants to sell her house and never get in the pool again. lol
i found 1 they r cool have u been bitten by 1
Nope, never been bitten by one, and would prefer not to start getting bitten now. I think that in general, it is hard to get a bug or spider to bite you (except for the ones that actually want your blood, like mosquitos and bedbugs and horseflies). Biting seems to be a last-ditch defensive action for bugs and spiders, they will try to get away, or stab you with pointed appendages or stingers if they have them, before they will try to bite.
I love the pictures! I found one of these last night in a parking lot here in Minnesota. I’ve never saw anything like it before–the largest bugs I see in the cities are cicadas, but this thing is much larger. I might just buy a feeder goldfish to see if my captive toe biter will eat it.
A friend found one yesterday in Indiana, and showed it to me. I hadn’t seen anything like them in the U. S., but I knew what it was right away. I was stationed in Vietnam back in the 60’s and a close asian relative of these would fly and land on our sweaty necks while we were working on aircraft, under the lights at night. We called them “rice bugs” then, and found out they would bite, if we didn’t brush them off rather quickly. They were up to 4″ long and a lighter color. I guess some people eat the darn things over there, and make a sauce out of them in Tailand.
The friend is keeping his bug in an aquarium/terrarium and was going out to get some feeder fish this weekend.
One thing that we found out about the feeder goldfish: if the water bug tries for them and misses, the goldfish will learn that it is a hazard and will avoid it. Two of the fish got too canny for our bug, and it wasn’t able to catch them in the entire time that we kept it before letting it go.
So now we have goldfish instead. They’re doing fine.
my teacher just caught one its ower class pet for a while
I found one of these in Portsmouth, NH (near a football field) last night, and didn’t have a container to put it in or I would have brought it to school to show my students. I had never seen such a huge beetle before — it was about 2 1/2 inches long. Thanks to your interesting photos and notes, I will have something to show the kids tomorrow after all!
It’s interesting that people are finding them flying this late in the year. I had been under the impression that they mostly flew in the spring, but it looks like there is quite a lot of late autumn activity as well. So, anybody looking for one to keep as a pet should probably check around lights that are on all night right about now.