2 bugs
The first i assume is a "toe bitter" i have lived in maien my whole life and never seen a bug that big…. heres some photos for you(there were taken on my palm pilot so there not the best)
the second bug i have only seen twice in my life, when i was 6 and noone belived me and jsut a week ago, no photos it however it body is aprox 1 inch from head to tail, look like a hornet, black in color, however it has a 5inch long "stinger" i cant find anythign about it. please help, its like a black hornet with a 5 inch tail. Thanks
Drop me a line when you figure that one out, now that i have foudn yrou website im gonna keep my camera handy for odd lookign bugs 
THANKS for a wonderful service
tim
Hi Tim,
Thanks for the Toe-Biter photo. I know what your second bug is. Here is a photo of a Giant Ichneumon sent in last year. These are wasps, but that five inch long stinger is actually an ovipositor. The female lays her eggs deep inside of a tree trunk and her young are predatory on boring insects, especially sawflies and beetle grubs.
We live in northern Wisconsin. My husband was in the lake (it has a mucky bottom) and felt something poke him in his big toe. When I looked at his toe it had a raised blister type mark. It resembled a sting mark with a very pronounced dot of where the bite/sting occured. The toe swelled and he experienced extreme pain. Do you know what type of a bug would live in the muck of a lake and sting? Thanks for your help.
Not to be funny, but it sounds like your husband was bitten by a Toe-Biter or Giant Water Bug.
Heat Bug? Strange and Irritating Bug
Hi! I just moved to a region, where in summertime, the air is infiltrated by an extremely loud, buzzing, almost electrical sound. I’ve been told it is called the Heat Bug, as it only comes out in the summer and creates its din on very warm days. I have included photos of what the locals claim to be the insect responsible for this racket!
Hope you can identify it!
Jordan
Dear Jordan,
Your awesome photos are of a Giant Water Bug, Lethocerus americanus, which also goes by the colorful names Electric Light Bug and Toe-Biter. These are aquatic insects which can also fly, and they can deliver a painful bite. They are also the largest True Bugs in North America. They do not make loud noises. I have never heard the name Heat Bug, but I am guessing by your description, that they are probably cicadas. Cicadas make a noise similar to that which you describe. Additionally, this year marks the return of Brood X of the Periodical Cicada or 17 Year Locust which will be appearing in great numbers and making quite a bit of racket. Sadly, Jordan, your letter was one of the last to get through before heavy traffic shut us down, or I would direct you to our cicada page to see photos of what I am guessing are your Heat Bugs. Our site will return in June. (05/03/2004)
Daniel,
Thank you for such a timely and informative reply! To imagine that I got siting of one of the Biggest Bugs in N.America! Unfortunately, this letter may not reach you until later, however, I do hope to return to your e-page soon. Thanks again and good luck with Brood X Studies.
Jordan.
Friends: I am writing from South America to congratulate you on your page and the task and effort you do. I’m taking the time to send you the enclosed photo of a Hemipteran (Toe-Biter) with genus and species that here we call the Gigantic Water Bed Bug.
health,
Dr. Carlos Marzano
Hey Bugman!
My husband found a giant brown bug on our screen door. He was so impressed with it , that he brought it inside to show me and our daughter. It was 2 1/2-3 inches long. It was brown and looked like a large leaf-on it’s back and belly. It had 6 legs. The front legs almost looked like pinchers. We live in the bottom of the pan handle in Idaho. I’m from Kentucky and used to seeing big bugs-but this one blows my mind. Haven’t been able to find it on the internet-you’re my last chance. Help! Need to Know In Idaho
Dear Need to Know in Idaho,
That should be your state motto. I’m guessing a Giant Water Bug, also known as a Toe Biter or Electric Light Bug. We will soon be featuring it in a special Bug Biography section due to be posted in the next few days.
Hi, this is Jay again on my home address.. I was
asking you about the bug that looks like the Water scorpion but not quite.. well, since I saw it I kept
my digital camera in my car in case I came across it again, well the other night I saw his little brother I
think.. that looked like a smaller version of the big
guy I saw.. I found him on his back kicking his legs and snapped this picture.. Looks like a water scorpion without the breathing tube? I can’t say for sure this is what I saw the other night.. it’s similar in shape.. This guy was about 2.5 inches in length.. the other one was literally 5 inches. So tell me what you think…
Jay
Thanks Jay,
It is a Giant Water Bug, Lethocerus americanus, and we have been getting numerous reports about them, especially the south, more specifically Florida. They will bite painfully, and swimmers call them "toe Biters."
Hi bug man!
My name is Stephanie, and I live in a suburban neighborhood in Birmingham, Alabama. I have a question about a bug that I have noticed sitting at my front door every night for the past week. It only comes out at night, and boy is it hideous looking. For starters, this thing is huge. It appears to be black on its back, yet when turned over, seems to have a lighter-colored abdomen. Also, to make it even uglier, it has two long siphon-like extensions that come out of its (i guess) "head," and these appear to be a color similar to its (?) abdomen. I have not yet been able to approach it, for I have a fear of strange insects (and some not-so-strange ones!)…so my details are few. It apparently likes our porch light, for, as I’ve said, it only comes out at night. A few nights ago, my fiance drove me home so he could take a look at it. He attempted to kill it, spraying it with Raid. It got very upset and flew all around my front porch, banging into the door and anything in its path. (sidenote: when it hit the door, it made a very "hard" sound, as if it were a rock) After about 5 minutes, it stopped flying around and landed by our front door mat, appearing to be dead. Wanting to investigate exactly what this strange bug was, I told my fiance not to pick it up and said that I would take a look at it the next day, when it would be light outside. So, the next day, I went down….and no bug. I assumed that possibly another animal of some sort had taken it and had it for supper, and that was that. Yet, tonight, again, as I returned home at around 1am, it was back in the EXACT same place that it had been the past 5 nights. I am so terrified of it, that I will not enter my parents’ house through the front door as long as this thing is there, guarding the door….so I go around to the back (where it’s dark) and enter there! If you could, please, please, please, tell me any information that you might have regarding what the heck this nasty-looking thing is. Thanks a bunch,
Stephanie
Dear Stephanie,
You have written such an amazing letter, I only hope I can help you. The siphon, as well the habit of being attracted to lights leads me to think it might be a Giant Water Bug, Lethocerus americanus. We have been getting several letters about them, especially from the South. They have a common name, "Toe Biters" due to their habit of biting the toes of swimmers. They are aquatic, and equally at home in the air or water. Here is a photo:
Hello,
My wife is a native to Florida and has in the last few years noticed a bug/beetle that she has never seen before. It always seems to hang around the same small bushes that one of our local restaurants have and the only other place she has seen it is at work where they have the same type of bush.
It is completely black, around two and a half inches in length, about half an inch wide and has large pinches on the front of it’s head and it also flies.
We would both appreciate it very much if you could tell us what this bug is as, we have looked on many websites and have never found it listed.
Thanks in advance,
Robert & Laura Kitchener
Dear Robert and Laura,
It sounds like a stag beetle. We have been getting reports and sitings lately.
Thanks but that is not it. The bug I mean doesn’t have such a hard shell and has similar dimensions of a palmetto bug, but larger, with claws and a bit different in color. We are going to try to get a picture of one for ya (If we can stand around it that long, ha, ha)? Thanks for all your help!
Please send that photo. Meanwhile, I’m guessing a Giant Water Bug (Lethocerus americanus). The Giant Water Bug is a true bug, a member of the order Heteroptera. They have sucking mouthparts. At nearly three inches in length, they are among the largest insects in the continental United States. The mature insects are strong fliers and because of their streamlined, keel shaped bodies, are equally comfortable in the air or in water. The adults have a variety of common names including Toe Biters and Electric Light Bugs. Any swimmer who has ever been bitten would attest to the origin of the name Toe Biter, since the bite is extremely painful. The Giant Water Bug is a ferocious hunter which uses its front claws to grasp its prey which can include small fish as well as tadpoles and water insects. Huge swarms appear periodically in brightly lit parking lots in the South. An even larger relative in South East Asia reaches five inches in length and is prized as a delicacy in Thailand. A recent news story covers a veritable invasion of Giant Water Bugs in New Port Richie, Florida that terrified the local population. Here is an image.
Thanks for the info I think that is the right bug. At first glance of the water bug out of the water, the ‘claws’ didn’t seem to stand out. Everytime I have seen this bug, it looked as if it had ‘claws’ so I wasn’t sure until I saw the PIC attached. This looks like the bug on land as well as in water. Thanks for finally settling our minds and we wont be touching one anytime soon !!!
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