Subject: Possibly a Giant waterbug
Geographic location of the bug: Tom Price Western Australia
Date: 04/19/2018
Time: 03:52 AM EDT
Your letter to the bugman: Hi me and my daughter found an interesting bug in our pool. We live in Tom Price Western Australia (the Pilbara region) we found It swimming around in the pool, when it was brought out it made the shape of a leaf. I suspect it is a Giant water bug, but this one is quite thin and it has long “tail”possibly a syphon for air while it lays in wait in the water.
Ive never come across one that looks like this before
How you want your letter signed: Jordan Chennell-Kuehne
Dear Jordan,
We reserve the name Giant Water Bug for the group of aquatic predators in the family Belostomatidae. This is actually a Water Scorpion, another aquatic predator from the family Nepidae, and both families are classified together in the superfamily Nepoidea, meaning they share physical similarities. According to Ausemade: “With their large pincer-like forelegs used for seizing their prey, Water Scorpions can inflict a nasty nip, although they are also known to play dead when disturbed.”
