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Home » Guide » Arthropods (Arthropoda) » Insects (Insecta) » True Bugs, Cicadas, Hoppers, Aphids and Allies (Hemiptera) » True Bugs (Heteroptera) » Giant Water Bugs (Belostomatidae) » Lethocerus » Giant Water Bug (Lethocerus americanus)
Photo#57063
I'm stumped, any ideas? - Lethocerus americanus
Copyright © 2005 mattb62

I'm stumped, any ideas? - Lethocerus americanus
Wakefield, Massachusetts, USA
June 6, 2005

Images of this individual: tag all
I'm stumped, any ideas? - Lethocerus americanus I'm stumped, any ideas? - Lethocerus americanus
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Contributed by mattb62 on 11 June, 2006 - 10:28am
Last updated 15 June, 2006 - 8:19pm

Wow. I just learned a new thi
Wow. I just learned a new thing. Toe biters are different from giant water beetles. I thought they were the same.

Yes, these can pierce your skin and give a nasty bite. Hence the name, "toe biter", as swimmers most often encounter them when they are stepped on and the bug bites back.
… bulrush, 13 June, 2006 - 7:27am login or register to post comments

...
(deleted wrong suggestion)

I see Robin made the ID on the other one - I defer to more expert opinion!
… Hannah Nendick-Mason, 11 June, 2006 - 10:37am login or register to post comments

 
not Eastern Toe-Biter
this is Lethocerus americanus; see Guide for characteristics that distinguish Eastern Toe-Biter (Lethocerus griseus) from Giant Water Bug (L. americanus)
both images moved from ID Request to species page
… Robin McLeod, 11 June, 2006 - 10:48am login or register to post comments

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