Electric Light Bug

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.

Leave a Comment