Large, dark brown, beetle-like bug with no antenae
We found this bug on the side of the brick house after dark on a warm September evening. My dog was trying to eat it, so we caught it and began trying to identify it without avail. Please help us identify this bug. Our children always like to find new things and learn about what they are. We have found many strange things where we live and love to find out what they are.
Curious family in Northern Utah
Brigham City, Utah (Box Elder County; Northern Utah)
Toe-Biter
Dear Curious Family,
Your visitor is a Giant Water Bug, also known as a Toe-Biter or Electric Light Bug. There is a related species in Thailand that is even larger that is considered edible and frequently eaten. While our own local population would also be edible, until food prices become exorbitantly high, or until food shortages are such that our gluttonous population doesn’t have enough to eat, we doubt many homemakers will be adding Toe-Biters to the dinner menu despite them being high in protein and low in fat.
Aquatic Mantid Like Creature from Australia
Hi guys,
congratulations on the new site. I came across this guy on the edge of a dam at my property. At first I thought it was just a leaf sticking out of the water but then noticed the eyes. I have never seen anything like it. Any ideas Queensland, Australia
aussietrev
Water Scorpion from Australia
Hi Aussietrev,
What a crazy looking photo of a Water Scorpion. We believe it is in the genus Nepa. Water Scorpions are related to Giant Water Bugs, also known as Toe-Biters. The stinger-like appendage is actually a breathing tube. We hope you have checked out our new site feature, What’s That Bug Down Under? that features our many Australian submissions.
this bug?
Good day,
My Husband found these Bugs (about 12 of them) on our deck in Wynndel B.C.. I think they were attracted to our “Bug Light”. Could you please let us know what they are.
Thank you
Toe-Biters
Your insects are Giant Water Bugs, aquatic predators that also fly quite well. They are also known as Electric Light Bugs because they are attracted to lights, sometimes in great numbers. The other common name, Toe-Biter, speaks for itself.
giant water bug?
I live in Dowagiac Michigan. About a hundred yards from Indian Lake. Their is a road between me and the lake. We found this big bug in our lawn. What is it? Our lawn is not watered and it has not rained in this part of Michigan for over two weeks. My book says it is a giant water bug, is it? I love your sight. I look here often to help me identify bugs I find in the woods. Thank you
Shirley Larson.
Hi Shirley,
We just recently removed the photo of a Giant Water Bug in the genus Lethocerus from our homepage since we received so few identification requests this summer and we needed the room. Normally, we get numerous requests for this distinctive insect, also known as an Electric Light Bug and the potentially misleading Toe-Biter. Toe-Biter implies that the Giant Water Bug stalks people for the purpose of biting, when in fact, bites occur when mishandling or accidentally through contact. The bite is painful enough to warrant the moniker Toe-Biter.
Water Scorpion
I have a penchant for taking photos of insects while up at the cottage. Last week I had the pleasure of meeting this amazing guy/gal. After the second shot it decided to leave and flew across the lake to the other side. From your site I believe it to be a water scorpion, the first I have seen in the Haliburton/Minden area just south of Algonquin Park in Ontario, Canada.
Thank you for your high quality image of a Water Scorpion in the genus Ranatra.
Backswimmer
Hello Bugman–
I found this bug in our pool, and after it freaked out the kids and I fished it out, I looked on your site. Sure enough, you had one picture of it, under True Aquatic Bugs. I thought perhaps maybe a few other pictures of a Backswimmer might be of use to you. Thanks for helping me identify it. Also, can’t the Chlorine, or other chemicals in the pool water, kill the bug? Thanks again,
Wendy Richardson
Hi Wendy,
Thanks for sending us another photo of a Backswimmer. One nagging reader, a Truly Candid Girl, might be annoyed, but we haven’t posted a new photo of a Backswimmer in quite some time. Backswimmers are in the Family Notonectidae, and more information can be found on BugGuide where we just noticed the common names Water Bee or Water Wasp, undoubtedly a reference to the bite. The chlorine would probably need to be at a very high concentration to harm the Backswimmer, though the lack of prey like small aquatic insects and other invertebrates will ensure that Backswimmers will not permanently inhabit your pool. Since they fly, they can come and go at will.
Beetle?
Hello,
Hoping you can help us to identify this bug. We were having a memorial day cookout, and someone almost stepped on it – looks to me like a type of cockroach, or maybe some flavor of click beetle, but I cannot figure it out for sure. Thanks for any tips/help 
Seemed to have 2 sets of wings, with a leathery covering, and it would “bob” it’s head while we were checking it out. It was approximately 3-4 inches long.
Dan
Electric Light Bug
Unknown Beetle
Hi
We found this beetle on our deck. We have never seen one like this before and was wondering if we can let it go or if it is a hazard to this area. We live in Kitchener, Ontario Canada Thankyou
Dave Crawford
Dear Dan and Dave,
After receiving numerous requests for the identification of the Giant Water Bug, Lethocerus americanus, in the past week, we decided to make it the featured Bug of the Month for June 2008. We get requests for the identification of Giant Water Bugs throughout the year from around the world, including many from our forces in Iraq. We are writing this posting on Memorial Day, and can only hope that our letters from Iraq begin to taper off as our troops return home. It should be noted that letters sent to us from other places in the world are different species, but all Giant Water Bugs look very similar. In Thailand, where they grow very large, they are eaten, so you can find entries on them on our Edible Insect pages. One other common name for the Giant Water Bug is Electric Light Bug because they are attracted, sometimes in great numbers, to lights. They have been known to decend in swarms to outdoor sporting events and brightly lit parking lots. The common name Toe-Biter has just fallen out of favor with us after we were chastised by a reader for saying that the bite of the Giant Water Bug (and its relative the Water Scorpion) is painful. The bite is painful, but these insects only bite human occasionally. Equally streamlined in the water and in the air, the Giant Water Bug is quite clumsy on land.
Giant Water Bug swarm
Hi, great site.
I was at work last evening and dozens upon dozens of these insects began to swarm outside my workplace, attracted to the lights I suppose. There is a lake not far from where I work, but it was such a surreal experience to see a relatively uncommon insect in the area come flying in in droves. I captured a few, along with a predacious water beetle which was also crawling about the lot. Just a strange experience, all in all to see so many crawling about in one place.
Dave,
Timmins Ontario, Canada
Hi Dave,
Thank you for your first hand account which will serve as an explanation for the common name of Electric Light Bug for the Giant Water Bug, Lethocerus americanus. The other common name, Toe Biter, arises because of the occasional bite to swimmers, and not because the Giant Water Bug targets human toes. Though bites are occasional, they are reportedly painful, so the Giant Water Bug should be handled with care.
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