Please identify this weird bug for me.
Wed, Jul 1, 2009 at 10:44 AM
I was visiting my parents’ lake cottage in the Adirondack Mountains in mid-June and found this bug by the downstairs brick patio. It was raining heavily and he was just sitting in a dry spot. It was about 11 pm. I scooped him up in a dish and found 2 more of the same size in the same vicinity. It was very docile and didn’t freak out when I picked him up; didn’t try to strike or fight at all. He wasn’t affected by light or water. (I flushed his two friends down the toilet and they didn’t struggle at all when put into the water.) I put him in a baggie and took his picture with a measuring tape to show his size. I left him in the baggie hoping he would suffocate and I could keep his body to show people for identification, but he chewed through the baggie and disappeared. I went back to the area where I found him and his friends but haven’t seen any since. This is in a pine-y, wooded area next to a lake. Pine needles are more abundant than grass. The patio where he wa s sitting is made of brick pavers. My parents also have a jacuzzi tub on the same patio, but they were not next to it when I found them. I am at a loss, finding nothing online even close to this bug to compare. Help!
Thank you for your assistance.
Upstate New York, Adirondack Mountains, Lake Algonquin
Hellgrammite
You have found Hellgrammites, the larvae of Dobsonflies. We really don’t condone flushing living things down the toilet. Hellgrammites are semiaquatic and can survive total emersion for a period of time. We would like to believe that the two individuals that were flushed will emerge unscathed at the end of the line, but that is probably just a fantasy.
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Posted 04 July 2009
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What is this?
Mon, Jun 22, 2009 at 9:39 PM
My freind and I were camping in Algonquin Park for six day on the Petawawa River. On the second last night we came across this interesting looking centipeide? at around 9:30 in the evening. After following it around for a whille we noticed another one. We then paned the rocky campsite and saw may of these things crawling towards us. They all must have been about 4 to 5 inches in length and a half inch wide. As the next day went on we saw very few (2 or three of them)of there on our travels down river. When night approced that evening we saw them againg coming out in numbers. Thge only difference this night is that they were crawing all over my tent as I slept. At one point of the night I woke up and counted ten on my tent. It was deffenatly a very creepy ni ght! I am very interested to know what this is?
Greg Noel
Algonquin Park on the Petawawa River
Hellgrammite
Dear Greg,
If your camping trip involved fishing, you missed an opportunity to stock up on one of the most prized of all live bait, Hellgrammites. Hellgrammites are the larvae of Dobsonflies. We have recently posted several images of Dobsonflies, so your Hellgrammite is a welcome current posting to our site. Your first-hand observations of the nocturnal wanderings of Hellgrammites is unlike anything we have ever read in a traditional entomology text, and as such, it is priceless.
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Posted 23 June 2009
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Big, Black, Shiny Bug
Tue, May 26, 2009 at 10:11 AM
We saw a number of these bugs by a river on the CT/MA border after a rainstorm in late May. They didn’t hesitate at puddles, but swam straight across and walked out on the other side. They were about 3 1/2 inches long, black, shiny, and had spines. They didn’t seem to be aggressive. What are they?
Sandi
Massachusetts
Hellgrammite
Hi Sandi,
This is a Hellgrammite, the larval form of the fierce looking but harmless Dobsonfly. Hellgrammites are considered to be one of the choicest baits by many fishermen. We just recently posted another photo of a Hellgrammite in its subterranean burrow.
Ha! We thought they had a Dobsonfly like shape! Thank you! Our curiosity is satisfied…until next time!
blessings!!! Sandi
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Posted 26 May 2009
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Hellgramite in a hole
Sat, May 23, 2009 at 8:07 PM
Hello. My husband and I had a truck full of screened loam delivered for projects around the yard and it appears to be loaded with hellgramites! I looked at the hellgramite photos on your website and didn’t see any of them in their “natural habitat” (basically a hole in the ground), so I thought you might like this one. This one had burrowed into the ground under a brick that was holding a tarp down to keep the loam dry.
Funny thing… we actually learned about hellgramites and Dobson flies a few of years ago from this website. Shortly after our move to our house along a small river in New Hampshire, we saw our first crazy, prehistoric-looking hellgramite on our driveway. We don’t typically notice that many of them, maybe a couple of hellgramites and Dobson flies a year, but we have seen dozens of them over the past few days as we have been shoveling and raking the dirt.
PGF in NH
Southern NH, Monadnock Region
Hellgrammite in a hole
Dear PGF,
We are happy to be going strong and continuing to serve the curious after all these years. We are greatly appreciative to be able to post your wonderful photo of a Hellgrammite in its hole.
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Posted 24 May 2009
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Larvae found in basement
I don’t know what kind of larvae this is but I never saw one quite so big. He is about 4 inches long and about ? inch thick. I live in South Central Pennsylvania USA. I am near water if that helps. This guy was crawling along my basement floor and I thought maybe you would know what he turns into or what he is? Thanks,
John
Hi John,
You have discovered a Hellgrammite, the larval form of a Dobsonfly.
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Posted 29 May 2008
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Okay, this bug was huge!! What is it?
Hello!
I saw this critter on the side of the Virgin River in Zion National Park in southwestern Utah, heading for the water. What is it? Unfortunately, my picture came out blurry, and I didn’t put anything in the pic for scale, but he was about 4-6 inches long. My coworker guessed it was a beetle larva. Thanks!
Sarah
Hi Sarah,
This is a Hellgrammite, the larva of the frightening looking, but harmless Dobsonfly.
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Posted 21 May 2008
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weird bug
Hi I took a picture of this strange bug in southern Peru (near Machu Picchu). My professor says it is a rove beetle, but I think it moved in an "inch worm" fashion, so I am not convinced. What do you think?
Heather
Hi Heather,
We would love to know what the locals in Peru call the Hellgrammite, the larva of a Dobsonfly.
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Posted 21 April 2008
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What the heck?
This is a picture of a bug that we found while camping in west Georgia. We found 3 of these creepy fellows and not really sure what they are. It looks like they have six legs, and several other spikes pertruding from their body behind their legs (at first it looked as though they had 20 legs).
This is our first Hellgrammite photo of the year. The Hellgrammite is an immature Dobsonfly and a choice bait for fishermen.
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Posted 12 April 2008
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Active Dobsonfly Pupa
Hello again, Bugman!
I decided to keep my hellgramite. It is enjoying its indoor pupal chamber quite well. It has begun to pupate, but becomes very active when I lift the flat rock it’s under to check on it. Do you think it will hatch into adulthood before winter hits? Thank you!
Emily
Hi Emily,
Thanks for sending us documentation of your Hellgrammite’s metamorphosis. We aren’t really sure how long the pupa stage lasts.
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Posted 10 July 2007
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Hellgramite
Hello again, Bugman!
I found this beauty today. My first hellgramite, and about three inches long. It was in a pupal chamber in sandy soil, under an overturned card table near the Missouri River. It copped an attitude pretty fast when I tipped the table up (I was hoping for a snake!). Anyway, I noticed you didn’t have any hellgramite photos on the page. I’m sorry the lighting is so bad. I decided to put it in a bowl of water for one shot, to get some of the sand off. I think I’ll let him go tomorrow. Thank you,
Emily
Hi Emily,
Long, long ago when we set up our website, we created separate pages for the larval Hellgrammites and the adult Dobsonflies. You can find other Hellgrammite images on their own page.
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Posted 01 July 2007
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please identify this bug
Please identify this bug. We saw it on a bike path next to the New River in Virginia today.
Ashby Hopkins
Here are more pictures. I thought it might be a Coach Beetle at first, but it did not have long antenae. Thank you,
Jim Hopkins
Hi Ashby and Jim,
This is a Hellgrammite, the aquatic larva of the Dobsonfly. The winged adult males have frighteningly large mandibles, but they are docile and harmless. The females, on the other hand, will use their smaller mandibles to bite, but a harmless pinch is all that will result.
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Posted 02 June 2007
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What is this bug??????????
Found in an old building situated next to a stream!!! I’ve never seen anything like this……… What is it???
Greg in NJ
Hi Greg,
This is a Hellgramite, the larval form of the Dobsonfly and favored bait of fishermen.
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Posted 18 May 2007
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