Toe Biter
My friend and I found this while walking late at night. We’re in Iraq, based in Balad Air Base. He was basking in the light of a standalone, stadium light, generator. He was pretty unresponsive for the first few touches, then he started to run away. I have a short video of him crawling across the ground if you would like.
Nicholas
Hi Nicholas,
We bet you wouldn’t be taunting that Toe-Biter that way in your bare feet. Though ungainly on land, Giant Water Bugs are extremely efficient swimmers and quite aerodynamic in flight as well. They have earned their common name due to the painful bite experienced by chance encounters with swimmers. We have been wanting a compelling new photo of a Toe-Biter for our homepage because this is one of the insects that are constantly featured there, along with Pseudoscorpions and House Centipedes.