Strange bug found off shore of creek.
June 6, 2010
Hi, I found a strange bug today (6/6/10) while fishing and I was wondering if you could help me idetify it. I turned over a rock that was about ten to fifteen feet from a creek and I saw this thing curled up in a little hole in the mud. It was on land not in the water. It almost looked like it had hatched there and grew because there was no real entry or exit from its location. There was a pretty tight seal because of the flatness of the rock. Also it wasnt moving almost like it was hibernating there. I scooped it up in a cup and it kicked around a little but all in all not real movement. It has big legs in the front but a long body so Im not sure how it would move. It has some pretty serious pincers on its mouth. It bit pretty hard onto a stick. I have no idea what t his thing is and neither does anyone I show it too. Any info would help. Thanks
Matthew R. Boyer
Southeastern Pennsylvania
Hellgrammite
Hi Matthew,
Hellgrammite identification requests like yours have been pouring into our offices from around the country, as are images of the adult Dobsonflies the Hellgrammites will eventually metamorphose into.
Mysterious larvae?
June 6, 2010
Found this creature near my house and wondering what it could be? Notice the wings and pinchers on the head.
Jeremy D.
Allegan, MI
Dobsonfly Pupa
Hi Jeremy,
We just posted a letter and commented on the great number of requests we have received in the last week and a half to identify Dobsonflies and their larvae, called Hellgrammites. You have submitted a photo of the pupa of a Dobsonfly, and judging by the mandibles, it is a male.
Centipede????
June 6, 2010
My daughter ran across this little guy and scared her to death. I told her it was a centipede. But after looking online I am starting to doubt my self. This guy lacks the large antenna all the other centipedes have. And his rear end is a single appendage, compared to most other centipedes with a split tail. Any help IDing this guy would be very appreciated. Sorry about quality took pic with camera phone. Pic taken on Apr 30 2010
Thanks
Aaron
West Virginia
Hellgrammite
Hi Aaron,
The Hellgrammites are crawling out of the woodwork this year!!! Actually, Hellgrammites do not live in woodwork, but the point we are making is that there is an unusually plentiful number of identification requests coming our way for both the larval form and the adult Dobsonfly. We believe the Hellgrammite was the inspiration for the creature in the classic horror film, The Tingler starring Vincent Price.
Giant Assassin Bug with large pinchers?
June 5, 2010
Ok, found this bug in our barn at Sealy, TX today. We do have cattle that go in there regularly and not sure if that helps. When I picked it up behind the head, it was snapping its pinchers and trying to possibly get me with its tail as well. To me it looks like a cross of a praying mantis and a large beetle with pinchers. I have it in a bug container, but not sure if I want to let it loose.
Adam
Sealy, TX
Dobsonfly
Hi Adam,
This male Dobsonfly is unable to use his formidable looking mandibles to bite humans. The female Dobsonfly on the other hand, with her much more utilitarian mouthparts, is quite capable of biting. We have heard that the male uses his saberlike mandibles to complete for a female, or in the mating process, but we have yet to see visual documentation of that claim. Neither the male nor female Dobsonfly feeds as an adult.
Head of Male Dobsonfly
¶ Posted 06 June 2010 § ‡ ° Ant Lion?
June 4, 2010
Hi! We found this monster crawling from the edge of the Muskegon River in Michigan toward the wood line. I thought it was an ant lion, but I haven’t seen any pictures of ant lions that look like this thing. I have video, also, if you’d like to see the creepy way the thing ambulated… What the heck is it? It was HUGE!
Eric Kincaid
Newaygo, MI
Hellgrammite
Hi Eric,
In the past week, we have been getting numerous photos of Hellgrammites like the one in your photo. We are also beginning to get images of adult Dobsonflies, the winged form of this aquatic larva. The male Dobsonfly possesses enormous saber-like mandibles, and if you think this Hellgrammite is frightening, wait until you see its daddy. Hellgrammites and Dobsonflies are both harmless, though the mandibles of the larva and those of the female can deliver a painful pinch, and possibly even draw blood. The foot is a nice use of scale.
Hellgrammite
Dallas winged horned bug, 3 inches long
June 4, 2010
Took this today, June 4th, in Dallas TX. About 3 inches long before the horns. I’ve never seen anything like it. Huge thick horns. thin delicate wings. and the abdomen undulates like there is something inside… Definitely has my imagination going.
HR
Dallas
Male Dobsonfly
Dear HR,
This is a great image of a male Dobsonfly. The female has much less impressive, but infinitely more practical mandibles.
What a cool website. Thanks!
HR
¶ Posted 04 June 2010 § ‡ ° What North American swamp crawler is this?
June 3, 2010
I found this scary little bugger crawling across the C&O Canal about 5 miles outside of D.C. It was probably 3 inches long, and all brownish black. It had a dull sheen to its exoskeleton. Although it appears to have many legs like a centipede, it only used the six longer legs (three on each side) on its thorax for movement. The other legs on the abdomen weren’t moving, and seemed to be spikes. The abdomen takes up half of the total body length, and seems very flexible in movement like a human tongue. On its head, were two proportionally large pinsirs. When provoked (by my shoe) it reared back a little into the air, and opened these pinsirs wide as a warning. When under attack, the abdomen was able to curl and launch the creature perfectly backwards away from my foot, in a fluent movement. It could repeatedly do this like a crawfish jets backwards with its tail. When crawling forwards normally, the bug did not have an “S’ movement, but was about to crawl perfectly straight, barely using its abdomen. It had no antennas also. What kind of bug is this?
P.S. I have a video of the bug writhing backwards, but your site won’t allow me to upload it. Would you like it?
Joey C.
Washington D.C. on the C&O Canal
Hellgrammite
Hi Joey,
You had an encounter with a Hellgrammite, the larva of a Dobsonfly.
Unusual “Centipede”?
May 30, 2010
I went camping with a troupe of friends and relatives. My friend and I went out for a walk while the others stayed behind at the cabin – on our return they beckoned us over to a cup where they produced this monstrosity.
Apparently, while we were gone, this bug fell from above and into my mother’s hair. It is a miracle they rescued it alive – they are the type to kill nearly everything they come across – but I think perhaps it was its uniqueness that saved its life.
I’ve never seen anything like it and I’ve lived in the same house all of my life. There are a few theories going around, the main contender is that it may be some unidentified form of centipede. I had a glance through your centipede pages but it did not look like a single one of them.
It also seems to have a mouth meant to suck sap or juices from roots, so the second theory is that it may be a larvae stage for something… My friend who I went on a walk with had the chance to touch it after she released it.
She said that it quickly burrowed in the ground (supporting the ‘it drinks from roots…maybe..’ theory), and that when she touched it it felt like snake skin.
I did not get the chance to do so.
I apologize about the quality of the pictures I’m sending, the cup which they’d trapped the bug in was reflective and the room was dark – so I needed to use flash, unfortunately.
I included a coin (a penny) for comparative size in the third picture, though it may be a bit hard to see from over exposure. Please let us know what it is!
Kaden James
South-Eastern Connecticut, USA.
Hellgrammite
Hi Kaden,
Your mystery creature is a Hellgrammite, the larval form of the Dobsonfly. Hellgrammites are aquatic, but they can survive on land, and they are predatory.
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