Giant Water Bug, Water Scorpions and other Water Bugs
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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.
How about this monster any help identifying?
I’ve been browsing through pictures and just haven’t found one like it yet. Any help would be appreciated! We found this guy out in the driveway last night…quite a surprise!
Mike
Hi Mike,
The Giant Water Bug is sometimes called an Electric Light Bug or a Toe-Biter. We feel compelled to include this recent letter in our response even though it concerns a different species. While this bug is known as a Toe-Biter, and while it can produce a painful bite, it is not an aggressive species.
Readers Comment: (05/12/2008) Giant water Beetle bites
Dear friends;
I’ve enjoyed your site immensely and have recently come across a specimen of Ranatra Fusca, the water scorpion. I was just thinking of how the public is terribly alarmed at insects that bite. I’ve never been bitten by an aquatic insect but I have cut my toe badly on a hidden piece of broken glass in the mud and have experienced nasty bites from a rabbit, cat, dog, a horse, and a ferret. A human, (Homo sapien or more commonly known as “ultimus stupidimus”) can deliver a very painful bite because the teeth are dull and have the same effect as clenching the flesh with a pair of pliers. The point here is that most of the smaller creatures are relatively defenseless and easily killed. This business of bites has to be seen in a larger, sensible context. As Mark Twain aptly stated, “Man can learn a lot from the higher animals.” All the best,
Paul Marshall
Barrie Ontario, Canada
Assassin Bug Species?
Found this little cutie in the North Georgia Mountains 5/4/08 at about 3000 feet. If I remember correctly the body was about 1-1.5 inches long, with the legs and oviposter maybe three inches. Looks similar to the Thread-legged Assassin Bug on your pages. Am I close? Any info on the natural history of it? Thx…
Greg in Dahlonega, Georgia
Hi Greg,
It is easy to confuse the Water Scorpion in your photo with a Thread Legged Bug. Your Water Scorpion is in the genus Ranatra, and BugGuide has many wonderful images, but none as nice as yours.
Water Scorpion
I had a chain of toad eggs in my "cement pond" and there were a family of these bugs congregated around them. (It seemed some had eggs in their pinchers!) I looked at your sight and found them to be water scorpions. One was about 4 inches long so I put it aside for a photo session. My question is, "Do these guys eat toad eggs?"
Katherine
Hi Katherine,
This is the second image of a Water Scorpion in the genus Ranatra we received today. The first was from Georgia and yours is from parts unknown. We believe that Water Scorpions might prefer moving prey, but your observation indicates that they may eat toad eggs.
Here are the picture of the toe-biter we found in our building one morning. I wrote you a week or so ago, but didn’t have the photos that we took. It looked like someone had stepped on him 
. He was very awkward and slow. But it sounds like that is typical for this little guy. I’m not sure what he was doing so far from a water source, there is a river around here, but maybe 5 miles away. Thanks for having such a great site, you see a lot of strange critters in Iraq, and your website is very helpful. We actually saw a camel spider today, he was probably 4 inches long, and very fast! I have sent the video along as well in a separate email, the guys at work were having some fun with him, but he escaped under the port a potty. Have a good day!
Patricia Winn
Hi Patricia,
Thanks for sending us your Toe-Biter image. We get numerous images of Toe-Biters, also called Giant Water Bugs or Electric Light Bugs, from around the world, including the U.S. Please return home safely and soon.
Toe Biter
I’m currently in Iraq on my 2nd tour and found this guy walking around our hanger. After snapping a few photos I went about the task of trying to identify it. Found out that its a toe biter. Good thing I didnt let my hands get to close. I set him free when I was done to prevent someone from killing him. Well the next night I came to work, I found him squished on the ground. I will keep looking for more now. We have Dung Beetles here too if you want a pic I will get one for your site.
Jerrad
Hi Jerrad,
Thanks for sending your photo of a Toe-Biter. We look forward to getting your Dung Beetle image. We also want to wish you a safe and speedy return home.
Spastic Attacker?
Hello Bugman,
i came into work this morning and this big bug was just waiting for me. He can fly, he is two and a half inches in length. He has claws that you can see in the picture what is he?????!!!! he ambushed me by flying but he was moving too fast and hit the garbage can. He then proceeded to walk around as in a daze. i ran to get the raid. so this is him dead,(sorry had too). We are located in South Florida, Sunrise to Be exact near the Everglades. we also use many chemicals in our facility…is this some weird mutation? whatever it is it scared the living crap out of me. Thank you,
Andy Kake
Hi Andy,
This impressive insect is a Giant Water Bug or Electric Light Bug, though our favorite name for it is a Toe-Biter. They will bite, and the bite is painful, but they are really harmless. In our mind, this is a case of Unnecessary Carnage. Toe-Biters are aquatic insects, and in the event you are interested, they are edible and considered delicacies in Thailand.
