Peruvian Hellgrammite
(04/21/2008) weird bug
Hi I took a picture of this strange bug in southern Peru (near Machu Picchu). My professor says it is a rove beetle, but I think it moved in an "inch worm" fashion, so I am not convinced. What do you think?
Heather



Hi Heather,
We would love to know what the locals in Peru call the Hellgrammite, the larva of a Dobsonfly.

First Hellgrammite of the Year!!!
(04/12/2008) What the heck?
This is a picture of a bug that we found while camping in west Georgia. We found 3 of these creepy fellows and not really sure what they are. It looks like they have six legs, and several other spikes pertruding from their body behind their legs (at first it looked as though they had 20 legs).



This is our first Hellgrammite photo of the year. The Hellgrammite is an immature Dobsonfly and a choice bait for fishermen.

Emily's Hellgrammite Metamorphoses into Pupa
(07/10/2007) Active Dobsonfly Pupa
Hello again, Bugman!
I decided to keep my hellgramite.  It is enjoying its indoor pupal chamber quite well.  It has begun to pupate, but becomes very active when I lift the flat rock it's under to check on it.  Do you think it will hatch into adulthood before winter hits? Thank you!
Emily



Hi Emily,
Thanks for sending us documentation of your Hellgrammite's metamorphosis. We aren't really sure how long the pupa stage lasts.

Hellgrammite
(07/01/2007) Hellgramite
Hello again, Bugman!
I found this beauty today.  My first hellgramite, and about three inches long.  It was in a pupal chamber in sandy soil, under an overturned card table near the Missouri River.  It copped an attitude pretty fast when I tipped the table up (I was hoping for a snake!).  Anyway, I noticed you didn't have any hellgramite photos on the page.  I'm sorry the lighting is so bad.  I decided to put it in a bowl of water for one shot, to get some of the sand off.  I think I'll let him go tomorrow. Thank you,
Emily



Hi Emily,
Long, long ago when we set up our website, we created separate pages for the larval Hellgrammites and the adult Dobsonflies. You can find other Hellgrammite images on their own page.

Hellgrammite
(06/02/2007) please identify this bug
Please identify this bug.  We saw it on a bike path next to the New River in Virginia today.
Ashby Hopkins

Here are more pictures. I thought it might be a Coach Beetle at first, but it did not have long antenae. Thank you,
Jim Hopkins



Hi Ashby and Jim,
This is a Hellgrammite, the aquatic larva of the Dobsonfly. The winged adult males have frighteningly large mandibles, but they are docile and harmless. The females, on the other hand, will use their smaller mandibles to bite, but a harmless pinch is all that will result.

Hellgramite
(05/18/2007) What is this bug??????????
Found in an old building situated next to a stream!!! I've never seen anything like this......... What is it???
Greg in NJ



Hi Greg,
This is a Hellgramite, the larval form of the Dobsonfly and favored bait of fishermen.

Hellgrammite
(06/02/2006) A bug I caught
Hello,
My name is Josh, I will attach a picture of a bug that I found this weekend while walking down the side walk, it was in the area of Ceder Falls Iowa, I was with in less than a 1/4 mile of a river and the area I found it in is a little bit swampy as well, I am wondering if you could tell me what kind of bug it is? the first picture of it is sitting on the ground, the next it is hanging from a stick by it's jaws, in the second picture of it you can see the bottom of it, thanks again, and I'll await your response,
Josh



Hi Josh,
The Hellgrammite is the larval form of the equally fierce-looking, winged Dobsonfly.

Hellgrammite
(05/22/2006) What kind of bug is this?
I found many of these bugs shortly after it rained in North Georgia. I was on a camping trip and I would like to know what these are. Thank you
David



Hi David,
This is a Hellgrammite, the larval form of the Dobsonfly. They are prized bait for trout fishermen.

Update from David Gracer
www.slshrimp.com
Hellgrammite
Dobsonflies are classed in the order Neuroptera. The larvae, hellgrammites, are not only by fisherman as bait, but are also highly regarded as food in some places (mostly Mexico and South America). The larvae are found under stones in streams, but of course they’re well-equipped with pain-inducing pincers. Although these are among the most fearsome-looking of all the edible insects I’ve seen, page 157 of the excellent book Man Eating Bugs: The art and science of eating insects displays a picture of a little girl in Peru holding a large hellgrammite ­ by the pincers. If any readers in Southern New England find one or two of these guys and can save them for me, I’d gladly chow down.

Hellgrammite
10/31/2005) Menacing Bug
My kids and I found these bugs in a damp, walking tunnel in Central Wisconsin.  They were 3-4 inches long and had big, sharp pinchers that they used violently to defend themselves. They are very prehistoric looking.  My guess is that it is some type of larvae. What are these, and are they usually lightning fast and deadly poisonous (LOL)?
Thank you,
Tom Curiouski



Hi Tom,
If you think the Hellgrammite is frightening, you should see the adult male winged Dobsonfly. Both larvae and adults are harmless. Hellgrammites are a choice bait for fishermen.

Stonefly	Hellgrammites

Another Dobsonfly Pupa
(06/28/2005) what is this?
I live in Elkhart Indiana ; I found this in a park in Goshen Indiana & I couldn’t find anything on the net about it, what could this be. Obviously it dead, we couldn’t keep it alive. I like your site, keep it up.
Joe McKalips



Hi Joe,
This is the second Dobsonfly Pupa photo we got in two days. It is dormant and will emerge, probably very soon. The adults are quite frightening looking.

Dobsonfly Pupa
(06/27/2005) Frightening larva thing...
Hi!
First, wonderful site. Keep up the good work, and all that. OK, so, the bug: My nephew found it under some rotten wood near Grantsburg, Wisconsin, the other day. My sister saved the little guy from becoming fishing bait, and brought it to me ("Happy Birthday!"). My nephew said that there was what appeared a shed "skin" next to it when he found it, and it was a pale off-white when caught (it's since turned brownish, as you can see.) It looks dead in the photos, but it is alive, and will squirm around if bothered. It's legs don't seem to be usable, however, and remain tucked under it's body, as do it's wings. So, do you know what it is? And do you have any ideas of how I can help it survive? Would it be best just to put it under a rotting log, or...? Anyways, thanks a lot.
Will Anderson, MN, USA



Hi Will,
You have a Dobsonfly Pupa. If you think it is scary looking now, just check out the adult males with pincer mandibles by using our brand new site search engine.

Hi...   Hah! Oh, no. Thanks. When I showed some friends your site, they pointed out the dobsonflies and said "Jesus, I hope it's not one of those!" Muahahaha.   You wouldn't happen to have any tips on care, would you? I've got it in a little cage now, with moist dirt and some of the wood it was found in. Should I bury it, or do you think out in the open is ok? I had it under a bit of wood, but it was across the cage in the morning.   Oh, and it doesn't need to eat, does it?   Thanks again,  
Will

Hellgrammite
(06/06/2005) the strangest bug i've ever seen in my life!
I was hiking at McConell's Mills in Western Pennsylvania and happened across this bug sitting in the middle of the street. It appears to me to be some sort of beetle larva, but it's SO big. It also had this fancy move it did when we touched its head with a stick - it would curl its tail under [which was soft like a catepillar's body] to quickly launch itself backward a few inches. Here it is pictured with my boyfriend's finger [who, for scale, is 6'4"]. And here is another better picture of its face. I also have a video i took of it walking and doing its cool backwards launch maneuver, which you can have if you're interested. PLEASE tell us what kind of bug this is. We're absolutely dying to know. I almost regret not taking it home with me! I just hope it didn't wander back into the middle of the road.   Thanks!
Jen and Glenn
ps. We also found a bunch of these really pretty red and black millipedes, which i've included a picture of. They were about 4 inches long.



Hi Jen and Glenn,
You have just encounted a Hellgrammite, the larval form of the Dobsonfly. These curious larvae are prized by fishermen as bait.

Thank you so much Tina,
Your photo is beautiful. We do not have a newsletter. Just keeping the site updated is a handful, though we have toyed with the idea of trying to publish a book. Also thank you for the navigating compliment. I just received another letter from someone complaining she couldn't find anything on the site. We would love to get the head photos.

(7/1/03)
Hi!
I live in Austin, Texas and just found this nasty looking bug outside on my patio, clinging to the wall in the early morning below my porch light.
It has a large set of mean-looking pincers on the front of the head. The forward half of the body is dark, and the rear half is light tan and caterpillar-looking. I had to take the picture through the yogurt jar I captured him in. He is about 3.5 inches long.
I leave most outdoor bugs alone but was concerned that if I ran across him later accidentally, I might get a nasty bite. He aggressively threatened me as I repositioned the jar to get the photo.
If anybody wants him, come and get him!
Thanks!
Patty Pritchett


Dear Patty,
  He is beautiful. He is an adult Dobson Fly, the larvae of which are known as Hellgrammites. The male has the formidable jaws which are used during the mating ritual in what humans might consider spousal abuse. They will not harm humans. We have additional information on our site.

(6/1/03)Hi, My girlfriend and I stopped to get gas in Connecticut, when I got out to start pumping I noticed this thing... slowly crawling around. It was between 3 and 4 inches long and moved rather slowly. Six legs, large ant-like head but a centipede like body. No antannae but large mandible looking things. We looked around and there were about 10 or so of them roaming around in various parts of the gas station lot. I came home and did some web searching trying to figure out what it was but was quite unsuccessful. The closest similiar descriptions I have found seem to be of the Protura order, but they are typically very small, and the bug I spotted did not have a cone shaped head. I came across your site and went through the bugs featured on it, with no luck. I returned after my failed web searches to snap the above picture, it had stopped raining, and this was the only one I could find.
What is this thing? Michael

Dear Michael,
Definitely a Hellgrammite, the larva of the Dobson Fly. We have photos of adults on our site, and would love to post your photo with the letter. I just received another letter from someone who spotted one at her cabin in Virginia, but I had no image to show her.

(The Creatures
June2, 2002) Hello Bug Person,
      I saw your site and thought maybe you could help me and my roommate out. We have creatures. That's what we call them, because they are unlike anything we've ever seen. In the last three places we've lived, we have seen the Creatures in our basement. They are similar to centipedes in that they are long, have many legs, and are creepy. But that's where the similarities end. Centipedes are flattened with legs that look like this ^ with one joint, but these Creatures have 2 joints, like spider legs. They don't have as many as a centipede but definitely more than 8. The legs are generally the same size too, not different lengths like a house centipede. they don't have the front "fangs" like a centipede but a mandible similar to a spider's - no antenae no little butt feelers. And they come in 3 different colors. I've seen very large ones (4-5 inches), black with white spots; others were just as big but dark brown; and just the other day, in our new duplex, we found a little one maybe 2-3 inches long and light brown. They are very fast and i even hit one with a book, cutting off its lower half, and the rest of it got away. Yeah, these things are evil. Nobody knows what these things are. We've had hunters, floridians, Arizonians, and other self-proclaimed bug experts, but we always get the same thing: a hideous blank stare and lonely nights in our basement. Can you tell me what the creatures are?

Alex,
     Be afraid.  Be very afraid.  Scream Alex, scream for your life.  You have Tinglers living in your basement.  Barring the possibility that the horrific monster from the 50's horror flick starring Vincent Price is in your basement, following you from house to house, I can think of several additional possibilities, though none seems to exactly fit your description.
Possibility #1 is the hellgrammite, the larval form of the dobson fly.  These four inch long creepy crawlies normally live in or near streams, but we have heard reports of them being found in basements.  Check out this website to see if the hellgrammite is your culprit.  http://www.watersheds.org/blue/nature/gallery2/
pages/hellgramite.htm
Possibility #2 would be a sun spider or wind scorpion from the family Solpugidae.  They move quickly, and can be found in basements, though I haven't heard of any American species quite as large as the creature you describe.  They are closely related to other arthropods called vinegaroons.
Possibility #3 would be a different type of centipede.  Scolopendra polymorpha is a six inch long species of centipede that resides within the continental U.S.   You can locate a photo of it and of the sun spider on this website.  http://www.angelfire.com/oh2/USInsects/
Arthropods.html
I shudder to think that we here at What's That Bug have entered the ranks of hunters, floridians or Arizonians with blank stares, but without more concrete information, perhaps a photograph or a drawing, and some hint of your coordinates on the globe, we've run out of possible id's.