Identification, Images, & Information
For Insects, Spiders & Their Kin
For the United States & Canada
 

Register · Log In
HomeGuideID RequestRecentFrassForumsDonateHelp
Clickable Guide
Moths Butterflies Flies Caterpillars Flies Dragonflies Flies Mantids Cockroaches Bees and Wasps Walkingsticks Earwigs Ants Termites Hoppers and Kin Hoppers and Kin Beetles True Bugs Fleas Grasshoppers and Kin Ticks Spiders Scorpions Centipedes Millipedes

Calendar
BugGuide Gathering
Smoky Mountains
University of Tennessee Biological Field Station
August 8-10, 2008
 
Photos from the gathering
 
Photos from the 2007 gathering in Minnesota

TaxonomyBrowseInfoImagesLinksBooksData
Home » Guide » Arthropods (Arthropoda) » Insects (Insecta) » True Bugs, Cicadas, Hoppers, Aphids and Allies (Hemiptera) » True Bugs (Heteroptera) » Giant Water Bugs (Belostomatidae) » Belostoma
Photo#104725
Giant Water Bug - Belostoma
Copyright © 2004 Stephen Luk

Giant Water Bug - Belostoma
Huntsville, Muskoka, Ontario, Canada
August 19, 2004
Size: 23 mm
My sister scooped this from a pond. It was the catch of the day :-)
Photo taken 22 April 2007.
Keyed out to B. flumineum. This is the most common Belostoma species of Ontario.

Images of this individual: tag all
Giant Water Bug - Belostoma Giant Water Bug - Belostoma
tag · login or register to post comments
Contributed by Stephen Luk on 22 April, 2007 - 6:00pm
Last updated 7 May, 2007 - 4:58pm

Angle, angle!
The above image was shot at an angle perpendicular to the insect's body. So the head, which would normally be declined, would appear shorter than the frontal lobe of the pronotum. I have added an image of just the head and frontal lobe of the pronotum. Hopefully it will help to support/counter the flumineum identification.
… Stephen Luk, 3 January, 2008 - 11:03am login or register to post comments

Which key did you use?
According to a key from Florida, this one keys to Belostoma lutarium.
I don't think it's B. flumineum because:
1. the head is not slightly longer than frontal lobe of pronotum (it's distinctly shorter)
2. the claval commissure is not distinctly shorter than scutellum (it's slightly longer)

B. lutarium seems to be a more southern species. However, it occurs in Michigan, so I suspect it's found in Ontario too.
… Robin McLeod, 3 June, 2007 - 3:27pm login or register to post comments

 
Don't remember which key...
But I clearly recall coming across the Florida key which you linked to, and since there aren't many Water Bug keys on the web, I may very well have used this one. I don't know how I went wrong on the fourth couplet - I could have switched the two around. Anyway, thanks for bringing the error to my attention. This may very well be lutarium.
… Stephen Luk, 3 June, 2007 - 4:06pm login or register to post comments

Comment viewing options
Select your preferred way to display the comments and click 'Save settings' to activate your changes.

Disclaimer: Dedicated naturalists volunteer their time and resources here to provide this service. We strive to provide accurate information, but we are mostly just amateurs attempting to make sense of a diverse natural world. If you need expert professional advice, contact your local extension office.

Contributors own the copyright to and are solely responsible for contributed content.
Click the contributor's name for licensing and usage information.
Everything else copyright © 2003-2008 Iowa State University, unless otherwise noted.

Bugguide is hosted by Iowa State University Entomology.

Printer Friendly Version 		Terms of Use
Privacy Policy
Site Map
Contact