Type of bug needs I.D.
January 9, 2010
Just found this bug with an aquarium order I received this week. Found it in a tank with some guppies. I really have no idea what it is or how it came to be. I would appreciate it if you could identify it.
Scott
PA
Water Scorpion
Hi Scott,
This is a Water Scorpion in the genus Ranatra and there is information on BugGuide. Water Scorpions are predatory True Bugs and they will eat the guppies, so you should not keep it in the tank. Prey is captured in the raptorial front legs and the sucking mouthparts will drain the prey of its fluids. The Water Scorpion may have been introduced on plants. Water Scorpions, like many other aquatic insects, can make interesting pets, but as they can fly, you should keep the tank covered. Interestingly, we have a section in the book manuscript we are writing entitled “What’s That in the Aquarium” that is devoted to aquatic insects sometimes encountered by the aquarist.
Giant Bug in Rockhampton, Australia
December 30, 2009
Hi! I just found this picture in my photos from my Australia trip this year, and this bug I just can’t figure out. It can definitely survive in water ( we fished it out of the pool after a few hours and it flew away ), and it must have gotten in there by itself so it can probably swim as well. It has pretty huge claws and makes a lot of noise, and flies and runs pretty fast. I know that a lot of locals didn’t know what it was either, so maybe it’s new to the area or doesn’t come out every year. We saw it in April as far as I can remember, and it started out with just a few and then we started to see them all over. I attached a picture with an australian ten cent coin for size info. I’ve been trying to figure out what it is but I can’t find it anywhere, help would be really appreciated 
Maja Schubert
Rockhampton, Australia
Giant Water Bug
Hi Maja,
This is a Giant Water Bug. In the U.S., they are commonly called Toe-Biters.
Scarabs invading our work.
October 20, 2009
These have been invading our work as of late, seemed to show up a couple days ago. Everyones intrest is peaked because they look so scary. We’ve got grown men screaming like little girls!
Springs going Boing
Southeast Michigan
Toe-Biter
Dear Springs going Boing,
Try turning off the lights at night as they may be attracted to the lights. This is a Giant Water Bug, also known as a Toe-Biter or Electric Light Bug and it is one of our top 10 most frequently requested identifications.
1
Similar to a Walkingstick
August 23, 2009
This looks like a walking stick but its legs are too close together. It was found in lake wicwas in meredith NH. When placed on shore it walked back to the lake where it held to a rock on the shoreline just under water. Seen at 1:15 pm on August 22, 2009.
Wicwas Bugs
Meredith NH
Water Scorpion
Dear Wicwas Bugs,
This is a Water Scorpion, and it gets its name from the painful bite. Though Water Scorpions do not routinely bite humans, if they are carelessly handled, they do not hesitate. Your specimen is not mature yet as evidenced by its incompletely developed wings. Though aquatic, adult Water Scorpions fly quite well.
Green Water Beetle?
August 9, 2009
Every year at my cottage me and my friends put together a small aquarium of insects and other animals that we find in our lake. This year we were surprised to catch something none of us had ever seen before. We thought at first that it was a baby Giant Water Beetle, but later on in the trip we caught another one identical to the first in an entirely different part of the lake. This lead us to believe that it was probably something different. I took some pretty good pictures of them before they were released and I was hoping you might be able to help us figure out what they were.
Max
Southern Ontario
Immature Giant Water Bug with Mite
Dear Max,
This is a Giant Water Bug in the genus Belostoma, and it is an immature specimen. Mature specimens have wings and can fly. Most Giant Water Bug images we receive are the much larger members of the genus Lethocerus. Your one image shows an orange speck on the right hind leg that appears to be a mite.
Immature Giant Water Bug
This just stung/bit my baby! What is it??
August 7, 2009
This bug was in the pool and could swim, it was hiding on the tile and bit/stung my son. His hand is swelling up but I dont know what it is to even start treating it. Please help!
Nicole
Orlando Florida
Toe-Biter
I just identified this same insect that bit/stung my baby son this morning. We were in the pool and he started shreaking. I have googled for hours to find out how to treat this wound.
I need to know if its poisonous and if I should do something medically for my son. Any information would be helpful
Thanks
Nicole
Toe-Biter: Dead after biting Child in Pool
Dear Nicole,
We should begin this answer by stating that we are not scientists and any information that we provide, though we do research our replies as thoroughly as possible, is an amateur opinion. Secondly, we are not trained in the medical profession and do not give medical advice for bites and stings. Third, we do not normally provide parenting advice, but we feel you should have sought professional medical attention for your son immediately rather than to try to self diagnose on the internet. Any information you receive on the internet, and that includes What’s That Bug?, should be considered questionable at best.
The bite of a Toe-Biter or Giant Water Bug is reported to be quite painful, and you son’s reaction to the bite would tend to support that notion. Giant Water Bugs are not considered dangerous or venomous insects, but the swelling of your son’s hand may be cause for concern. We would counsel you to seek medical attention.
We at What’s that Bug would like to use this encounter with the Toe-Biter as a cautionary tale that is instructive and might reduce Unnecessary Carnage of bugs that appear menacing in the future. Toe-Biters are not normally aggressive, but they will bite if threatened or carelessly handled. This is not a reason to kill them when they are encountered as they perform a necessary function in a balanced ecosystem by preying upon other aquatic creatures. It should also be noted that if a person is bitten by a questionable insect, spider, or scorpion, it is often helpful to have the actual specimen handy for experts to diagnose the potential need for venom antibodies. So in this sense, we do not consider this particular dead Toe-Biter to be Unnecessary Carnage.
We wish your son a speedy recovery and hope his trauma is short-lived and that he will learn to appreciate the sometimes scary world of nature that abounds around him.
Unnecessary Carnage Comment
August 9, 2009
RE: unnecessary carnage
I love your site, and visit it several times a day. Many thanks for posting such lovely images and so much information (you helped me ID a one-eyed Sphinx moth here in Seattle)! I also love the fact that you tell folks when they have committed an act of unnecessary carnage, but sadly, you have been very hesitant to do so lately… Please don’t let one or two unhinged people keep you from providing a vital service- letting humans know that insects are innocent until proven guilty!
Leah S.
7
What is this? It looks like a cross between a roach, a moth, and a scorpion
July 22, 2009
Hi, in all my 29 years in Florida I have never seen a bug like this. We live in a wooded area with cypress and marsh behind us. I walked out of my house this morning to find this bug on the porch. I’d be so grateful if you could identify it. I left it alone and this afternoon it was gone.
Bugged out.
Florida
Toe-Biter
Dear Bugged Out,
This is one of the most beautiful images of a Toe-Biter, or Electric Light Bug, or Giant Water Bug we have ever seen. We have numerous letters with numerous photos and lots of information already posted on our website regarding this amazing insect.
Huge bug in Florida
July 21, 2009
We found this huge bug with wings and large jaws in our pool. It was almost four inches long. I carefully scooped it out of the pool and placed it in the grass, only to have my crazy weiner dog take a huge bite out of it! We felt really horrible being that the bug was so unique! What kind of bug is this?
Bug lovers in Florida
Gainesville, Florida
Toe-Biter
Dear Bug Lovers,
This is a Giant Water Bug, commonly called a Toe-Biter. They are not aggressive towards humans, but they will deliver a painful bite if handled carelessly. Toe-Biters are aggressive predators, and no small water creature is safe, be it fish, tadpole or insect. In Thailand, Giant Water Bugs are eaten as a delicacy, and we are quite certain your pet found it to be quite toothsome. Giant Water Bugs are not rare. They actually are among our most frequent identification requests, along with House Centipedes, Potato Bugs, Boxelder Bugs and Pseudoscorpions.
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