That’s just a giant water bug. The cockroaches here in South Carolina keep them as pets.
For pure bug induced horror, how about the Japanese Hornet?
Sweet dreams.
I had one of those in my hand once and it bit me deep enough that the wound bled. Death To Them ALL!!
I’m coming to the conclusion that we must establish a nuclear Zone of Death along our norther border. The only doubt I have is that these critters would eat radioactive stuff and just grow BIGGER.
Plan B is to fatten up Canadians so us Chubby Americans aren’t tempting these critters across the border for easier meals.
I think these are the ugliest, meanest looking ones. Close to Antarctica, too!
They’re making more of those things?! Deliberately? Please send me the lab coordinates so I can call in a Predator drone strike.
This comes from The Lurker at the Threshold? Worst post/username combo in thread.
Even the Lurker has stuff he doesn’t like. There’s an entire dimension I built just to store scary bugs
The giant water bug (Lethocerus) ranges throughout most of North America. They leave the water and fly to find a mate. Sometimes they seem attracted to street lights. I’ve seen literal piles of them, totaling multiple bushel baskets of 3+ inch crawlers, in certain places where this occurred. My experiences were in southeastern Florida, but here’s a link to an occurrence on Florida’s other coast.
I’ve seen the big water bugs, but never knew they could bite. Thanks for the warning.
I love praying mantises-- they look cool and they eat pests. I caught them all the time as a kid, some about 6 inches long. Never got bit.
Cicada killers are fun to watch, and I’ve always thought garden spiders were beautiful. Never bitten or stung by either of them, either. Or centipedes.
Come to think of it, what are y’all doing to get attacked by these critters?
Just one more bug story. When I lived in the Mojave desert I was taking care of some paperwork one Sunday evening when a SunSpider crashed the party.
Luckily I was already sitting with my pants down or it would have been even uglier.
There’s a passage from Annie Dillard’s Pilgrim at Tinker Creek where she describes this happening.
It’s horrifying. I’ve been scared of giant water bugs ever since, even though I’ve never actually SEEN one.
I thought this thread would be about those recently re-discovered tree lobsters, a species of stick insect exhibiting giantism. Almost 6" long, they are.
But this water bug is just as alarming.