Giant water bugs are members of the family Belostomatidae within the order Hemiptera, colloquially known as toe-biters. They occur worldwide, with most of the species in North America, South America and East Asia. They are typically encountered in freshwater streams and ponds. Most species are relatively large, 2 cm or more, with some of the largest (such as Lethocerus) exceeding 12 cm, and nearly reaching the dimensions (length and mass) of some of the larger beetles in the world. These giants are the largest of all Hemiptera.

Habits

They are fierce predators which stalk, capture and feed on aquatic crustaceans, fish and amphibians. They inject a powerful digestive saliva with their mouthparts, and suck out the liquefied remains. Their bite is, not surprisingly, widely considered the most painful that can be inflicted by any insect (the infamous Schmidt Sting Pain Index excludes insects other than Hymenoptera; a belostomatid bite can be much more excruciating than anything in Schmidt's list); the longer the bug is allowed to inject its saliva, the worse the resulting bite, and as the saliva liquefies muscle tissue, it can do serious permanent damage.

Belostomatids show parental care and the eggs of many species are laid on the male's wings and carried until they hatch. The male cannot mate during this period. The males invest considerable time and energy in reproduction and females take the role of actively finding males to mate. This role reversal is predicted by R. L. Trivers' parental investment theory.

In some areas belostomatids are considered a delicacy, and can be found for sale in many rural markets. They are often collected for this purpose using large floating traps on ponds, set with black lights to attract the bugs. They fly at night, like many aquatic insects, and are attracted to lights during the breeding season.

References

• Smith, R. L. (1974) Life history of Abedus herberti in Central Arizona. Psyche 81:272-283 PDF

External links

• Factsheet from zoo.org
• Sex role reveral

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