Water Bug - Notonecta irrorata

big, scary notonecta!

I first saw these in Shreveport, LA outside a grocery store @ night. Not knowing, I took it home to add to a bug collection and was surprised when it started flying! I noticed its belly was segmented, a pretty peachy sunset color, and seemed to have little airholes on either side of the segments. The proboscis seemed predatory, so I put it in a mason jar with a minnow, and watched it grab and suck the life out of it!! Then the birds came and ate it. Or maybe it flew away. Dunno.
Saw a dead one, VERY large. Probably 4 inches long (also LA).
About 3 years later I moved to the Buffalo, NY area, and think I saw one walking about on the beach. Now I'm not sure whether it was a backswimmer or a water boatman. What are some of the differences with these creatures? Oh, and all 3 creatures had 6 legs.

… wormgirl, 22 July, 2008 - 8:52am

Very Large aquatic bug

the 4" bug sounds like it could be giant water bug (Belostomatidae). Backswimmers aren't that long.

Largest backswimmer (Notonecta) is well under 2". A huge one is 16-17mm.

Backswimmers are "torpedo" shaped and positively or neutrally bouyant (may cling to vegetation/twigs or remain suspended in water column w/o effort. Boatmen are dorso-ventrally flattened and must swim to surface for air. They spend a lot of time clinging to substrate when not actively swimming.

… ELarsen, 25 August, 2009 - 6:41pm

colour seems distinctive

moved therefore.

… Boris Büche, 2 May, 2007 - 5:06am

Moved

Moved from Notonecta.

… Boris Büche, 2 May, 2007 - 5:06am

Notonecta.

The genus is Notonecta. Individual specimens vary in color, so hard to pin a species name to it. BE CAREFUL, backswimmers can give a really nasty bite if handled!!

… Eric R. Eaton, 20 June, 2005 - 1:01pm

Handled quickly

I plucked up out of the mud it hid in at the bottom of a puddle, and dropped it on solid ground quickly. Last year I picked one up, and it went back in the water real fast because it bit me, then I pulled my hand back.

… tom murray, 20 June, 2005 - 7:34pm

H2O bug

Turn it over and you'll see a bug's sucking mouthparts.

… Jim McClarin, 20 June, 2005 - 5:28am

It chased me!!

Two years ago I was swimming in a creek about 6 miles north of Lake Pontchartrain when, to my surprise, I was pursued by one of these. At least it bore a strong resemblance to the picture, except that it was jet black and about 1½ inches long. Before i could get out of the water, the nasty creature caught up to me and delivered a very painful, bloody bite on my right calf. I still have the scar, a little hole.
Why did it pursue me? I'm not too easily frightened, but that was really scary!

… John Deriax, 27 March, 2006 - 7:39pm

You must have looked appealing.

Ordinarily I wouldn't think it would go after something so much bigger than itself. I wonder how common your experience is.

… Jim McClarin, 27 March, 2006 - 8:05pm

Could it have mistaken me for a fish?

When I told a fishing buddy about this he said that he'd caught fish 8 to 12 inches long with these beasts attached to them, preying on them. Could this bug have mistaken me for a prey item? Or was it perhaps defending its territory?
I'm curious: are they venomous?

… John Deriax, 29 March, 2006 - 11:14pm

You were prey.

I'm not aware of any aquatic insect that's territorial. That's interesting about the fish. Most predatory true bugs inject saliva that breaks down tissues when they bite. I don't think it would be regarded as a systemic poison, but then I'm unsure where toxicologists would draw the line...

… Jim McClarin, 30 March, 2006 - 5:44am