Nature: Giant water bugs vicious when it comes to attacking prey
Once one learns that mammoth insects sometimes called “toe biters” lurk in ponds, a person might be less inclined to wade bare-footed.
Formally known as the giant water bug, Lethocerus americanus, this insect is indeed intimidating. If looks could kill, an entomophobe (person who dislikes insects) might keel over on the spot.
Despite online videos overhyping the perils of the giant water bug, they’re fierce-looking six-legged marshmallows. In fact, if handled or threatened, the bugs often freeze up and play dead. That’s not to say that caution isn’t warranted if handling one. They can pack a punch.
The giant water bug is a true bug in the order Hemiptera, and like many of its brethren it has a stiff tubular proboscis. If a person is foolish enough to get bit — which would normally entail goading the insect to defend itself — he or she will experience notable pain.
Giant water bugs frequent leaf litter and other plant detritus in the shallows of ponds and other water bodies. Although the bug may be conspicuous when high and dry and exposed next to my finger, it’s virtually invisible in its aquatic haunts.
Woe to the lesser creature that happens by a lurking giant water bug. The prey is quickly ambushed by the bug, which swims it down in short order. Victims are seized by powerful forelegs, and the coup de grace is administered via the proboscis.
A chemical cocktail is injected that rapidly immobilizes the prey. Other agents quickly go to work, dissolving its innards. The giant water bug then sucks out the contents via its proboscis, like a grisly milkshake.
Admittedly this is a horrible fate by human standards, but fortunately, the bugs cannot do us real harm. However, we can be grateful that giant water bugs are not truly giant, like the size of a lunker muskellunge. Then swimming would be an exercise fraught with peril.
Although giant water bugs can’t kill people, they are a rare case of an invertebrate capable of killing vertebrates. Small fish and amphibians are regularly captured. Crustaceans, too, and crayfish are often a dietary staple. Other insects make up the bulk of the prey, though.
Females lay around 100 eggs, and place them on underwater vegetation. The male guards them until hatching, ensuring their safety.
On April 13, John Howard, a friend who is a walking encyclopedia of flora and fauna, and I were exploring a small lake deep in Shawnee State Forest in southern Ohio. The waterbody was full of red-spotted newts and other interesting aquatic creatures. Howard saw a giant water bug jet from cover, drew his net like a quick-draw shooter and bagged the beast.
We found another and were quite pleased with the finds. True to their generally passive demeanor, the bugs played dead while we manipulated them for photos. Once we had our fill of these fascinating creatures we released them back into the depths.
Like most bugs, giant water bugs are capable of flight and that’s how they disperse and colonize new sites. They can be attracted to lights, and occasionally turn up on walls by nightlights. Maybe, if you are really lucky, one will appear at your porch light.
Naturalist Jim McCormac writes a column for The Dispatch on the first, third and fifth Sundays of the month. He also writes about nature at www.jimmccormac.blogspot.com.