Subject: Found at south Carolina lake house
Location: South Carolina
April 3, 2016 5:19 pm
I found this in the driveway of my parent’s home in South south Carolina. It’s very slow and about 5 inches long. It’s head is flat with large pincers. The front half looks like a beetle, hard segments, 6 segmented legs. The rest looks like a centipede. It has multiple segments with what seem like non functioning legs.
Signature: Curious in Carolina
Dear Curious,
Though we have never been able to identify successfully the etymological origin of the word Hellgrammite, it is nonetheless an appropriate name for the impressive larva of the Dobsonfly. While five inches seems like a bit of an exaggeration, Hellgrammites are large insects. Hellgrammites are found near sources of water since they are aquatic, but they will move to drier ground to pupate. Adult Dobsonflies should begin to appear in your area very soon.