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Hellgrammite

what type of water bug is this?
Location: Mariposa, California (Sierra Nevada)
May 12, 2011 12:03 am
Found this in our creek and called it a water centipede because it resembles a regular centipede so much. It has pretty big mandibles and tried to give a bite when picked out of the water.
Rarely ever see these around here. What is it?
Signature: Aiden

hellgrammite aiden 300x206 Hellgrammite

Hellgrammite

Hi Aiden,
You have encountered the predatory larva of one of the members of the family Corydalidae, the Dobsonflies and Fishflies.  The larva of the Eastern Dobsonfly is known as a Hellgrammite, and though this is not the Eastern Dobsonfly, we feel the common name Hellgrammite should still apply.  We will try to determine the species.

What's That Bug? does not endorse extermination

Male Dobsonfly

Freaky Bug
Location: San Antonio, TX
May 7, 2011 8:46 pm
We see this bug occasionally at a friend’s ranch. Can you tell me what it is and if it’s dangerous at all? We live in Texas and it’s currently in the 80s and sunny on a regular basis.
Signature: Kas

dobsonfly kas 300x255 Male Dobsonfly

Male Dobsonfly

Dear Kas,
Despite its formidable looking mandibles, the male Dobsonfly is perfectly harmless.  The female with the smaller but more practical mouthparts might bite if carelessly handles, but she too is considered harmless.

Spring Fishfly

need id on winged bug, please…
Location: seaford, va
May 4, 2011 7:16 pm
hi! i saw this bug hangin’ out on my steps and thought it was quite unique and interesting. it measured about 2 inches long. can you please identify it for me? thanks.
Signature: tina

spring fishfly tina 300x228 Spring Fishfly

Spring Fishfly

Hi Tina,
Though your Spring Fishfly,
Chauliodes rastricornis, is a large insect, she is dwarfed by her distant cousin the Dobsonfly.  The males of the species have feathered, comb-like or the more scientific pectinate antennae, while the antennae of the females are more linear with sawtooth edges.  According to BugGuide:  “Adults typically fly late spring: March?-May (North Carolina), April-May (West Virginia). Seen into early June in New England (Massachusetts–guide photo). Further south, much of year (Florida).”

What's That Bug? does not endorse extermination

Hellgrammite

Scaley bug with pinchers on head?
Location: Hector, Arkansas
May 2, 2011 2:05 am
We ran across this bug at a Girl Scout campout. It cause quite the commotion as it was in one of the bath houses and most of the little girls wanted to squish it. (No, we did not allow that!) Other girls were facinated by this creepy crawly. All of us adults just want to know what is that big?
Thanks for any help you can give.
Signature: ~Jen from Arkansas

hellgrammite jen 300x218 Hellgrammite

Hellgrammite

Hi Jen,
This formidable larva is known as a Hellgrammite, and it will eventually metamorphose into the fierce looking, bug harmless Dobsonfly, a flying giant with substantial mandibles.  You can find countless images of both Dobsonflies and Hellgramites on our website including this one.

Hellgrammite

Nymph
Location: Cochise County, Arizona
February 14, 2011 8:15 pm
Dear Bugdude,
A friend took these photos and gave me permission to send them in. She photographed the nymph in a stream in the Chiricahua Mountains, Cochise County, Arizona, it was about 2 – 2 1/2 inches in lenght. I’ve searched and searched the internet and cannot seem to locate a photo to identify this nymph.
Signature: Huh?

hellgrammite arizona 300x211 Hellgrammite

Hellgrammite

Dear Huh?,
This appears to be a Hellgrammite, the larva of a Dobsonfly or Fishfly in the family Corydalidae which you may compare to this image on BugGuide.  Most of our images of Hellgrammites are from the Eastern Dobsonfly,
Corydalus cornutus, and BugGuide does not report them any further west than Texas, however, BugGuide does report a genus member being sighted in Arizona, and the information page on the genus on BugGuide does list four species, with this information:  “Corydalus texana – SW US west of the Rocky Mountains” and “Corydalus bidenticulatus - Arizona” indicating that this individual may be either of those species.

Copyright Infringement: Male Dobsonfly is a handful

Ed. Note:  August 7, 2011
Please do not submit photos to our website that you do not have permission to use.  We do not tolerate copyright infringement.

Crazy Big Bug
Location: Killeen, TX
January 29, 2011 10:59 pm
Well I woke up to go to work one day aroung 5:30 am, and this bug was on the outside wall next to my door. This was back in November, it was pretty cold then so I was really surprised to see this guy just chillin on my wall.
Signature: X-Soldier

eastern dobsonfly male july 10 2008 a 030 300x257 Copyright Infringement:  Male Dobsonfly is a handful

Jo Ann's photo returns to What's That Bug? Corydalus cornutus - Eastern Dobsonfly Male July 10 2008 Jim Thorpe Pennsylvania

Dear X-soldier,
That male Dobsonfly is sure a handful.  Though we are quite certain this image will give some of our website visitors nightmares, the male Dobsonfly is quite harmless as those incredible mandibles are useless for biting.  Though the female Dobsonfly is also harmless, her more utilitarian mandibles might deliver a painful pinch if she is carelessly handled.  The larvae of the Dobsonfly are known as Hellgrammites, and they are a favored bait for freshwater fishermen.

Hey Daniel, I really appreciate you getting back to me with this bug. When I told people about it no one believed me. Thanks again for the help!

Update:  August 7, 2011
We just learned today that the image that was submitted with this letter was not taken by X-soldier.  This image was taken by Jo Ann Poe-McGavin in 2008 and it was posted on the Pennsylvania Wild website.  At Jo Ann’s request, we have removed the image to avoid copyright infringement.  See the attached comments for additional information.

Copyright violation & log in
Website: www.pawild.net
August 7, 2011 9:15 am
The Dobson Fly male photo on:

http://www.whatsthatbug.com/category/dobsonflies-and-fishflies/page/4/

Posted by x-soldier was actually taken by me in 2008 and the copyright notice on the photo was removed-I have the original on file with the original EXIF data
I would like the senders information to inform them of copyright violation
also your website does not allow log in
The information was give to you was false as well. This photo was taken in 2008 in Pennsylvania.
Signature: Jo Ann Poe-McGavin

Dear Jo Ann,
We apologize for this copyright infringement.  We were not aware that the image was not taken by x-soldier.  For the record, we did not remove the copyright.  We are attaching the original file that we downloaded before we cropped and resized it.
The image will be immediately removed from What’s That Bug?  Should you decide to allow us to continue to keep the photo posted on our site, we will provide an editor’s comment explaining the situation and we will give you full credit as well as linking to your site.
We want to reiterate that we did not pilfer this image from your site and then remove the copyright information.  We do not know how x-soldier obtained the image.
Please advise.
Daniel Marlos, AKA the Bugman
P.S.  We will try to locate the contact information for X-soldier and forward it to you, but we often delete emails.

Dear Daniel
I’m not sure how this image was pilfered or when-except that it might have downloaded from it’s post on my Deviant Art account or PAWild (my website) and someone-not you-removed the copyright info-I’ve been finding this photo on many sites in this condition posted by numerous people and they provide false information. Each gives a different name and date when it was taken and where. Sigh…..
I don’t mind your site using it if the proper info is given. Credit, date, etc.  Corydalus cornutus – Eastern Dobsonfly Male July 10 2008 Jim Thorpe Pennsylvania
I am attaching the photo as it appears on my website and how it should be.
If you can’t find the info on the sender-that’s okay-more than likely they will deny everything-as usual.
Thanks for your time on this
Jo
www.pawild.net

Thanks Jo Ann,
We have returned the photo to the posting along with much of our dialog.

Dear Daniel
That’s just fine-and way more than I expected.
I apologize for not writing back sooner but due to someone calling with a Rattlesnake in their yard and a minor health problem-I wasn’t able to answer until now.
Thank-you for fixing it up.  :3
Jo
www.pawild.net

Hi Daniel,
I think you’re website is awesome-I have looked at it many times-especially while looking for the caterpillar that stung me-Saddlebacks and the like. I am also fascinated by the related species posted from other countries.
Just curious did the other one listed below come from the same IP? I’m not sure why someone would go through such trouble to post someone else’s photo and ask for information when most people can take their own photo. I get sent some pretty bad photos of snakes (and drawings-classic-I love them) but I can still ID them. Nothing people try to ID is worthless if they found it.
BTW-more than likely you’ll never hear from the poster again. If you do-I’d love to see what they post.
Again thanks!
Jo
www.pawild.net

Hi again Jo Ann,
Since our staff is divided between editorial and technical, and since we get such a large number of requests, the person who responds to the emails doesn’t really monitor the IP addresses.  We do have some frequent contributors though, but they submit their own photographs.  The monitoring of internet piracy can really become a fulltime job that our small staff does not have the luxury of employing.  We actually get our share of drawings and we try to post the most amusing ones.  That reminds us that we just received a drawing that we believe is a Robber Fly, and though we responded, we did not have the time to post it.  We may try to hunt that one down and do it now.  Had the internet been around before Daniel fled Youngstown, Ohio on the Pennsylvania border in the late 1970s, he probably would have been a frequent user of your site.

 

 

Female Dobsonfly in threatening posture

Bug ID please
Location: Arrowhead Lake, Pocono Lake, Pennsylvania
January 3, 2011 11:55 pm
Hello! this is the scariest looking bug I’ve ever seen. I saw him on the siding of a building in the woods in Pennsylvania, in the Pocono mountains. i would appreciate it if you could help in identifying him. Thank you very much,
Wendy
Signature: Wendy

dobson wendy 300x196 Female Dobsonfly in threatening posture

Female Dobsonfly

Hi Wendy,
We often write that Dobsonflies are harmless, but it is possible that a female might deliver a painful bite that may even draw blood.  This female is in an effective threat position and we would have to agree with you that she is quite frightening.  The male Dobsonfly with his saber-like mandibles is even more frightening, but whereas the female actually has mandibles capable of biting, the mandibles of the male are perfectly harmless to humans.

Wow! Thank you so very much! So exciting to get a response/id from you
and so quickly too! Appreciate it very much,
Wendy

Hellgrammite

Scary River Centipede
Location: Cahaba River, AL
December 13, 2010 12:45 am
Dear Bugman,
I looked through many pictures, but because I am scared of things with so many legs I felt sick. All I can do is ask, what kind of bug is this? I found it while swimming in the Cahaba River by my Grandmothers house near Birmingham, Alabama in July.
It was found inside the river and swam kind of fast…well, it squirmed through the water fast. The creature is four or five inches long. I was wondering if it might be what bit my foot while I was swimming the week before? The picture is what I got when I scooped it up with my cousin’s swim mask.
Signature: Grossed out Nursing Student

hellgrammite alabama 300x223 Hellgrammite

Hellgrammite

Dear Grossed out Nursing Student,
Though it looks very much like a Centipede, this Hellgrammite is actually an insect larva.  Imagine the winged adult male with saber-like mandibles an inch long, and you will have some idea of what the adult Dobsonfly looks like.  Hellgrammites can bite, and the bite might even draw blood, but the fierce looking creature is actually harmless.  Fishermen relish them as bait.  When he was researching his book, Daniel tried unsuccessfully to uncover the origin of the word Hellgrammite, but even without an origin, the name seems appropriate for this fascinating insect.


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